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FeaturesYou are in: Jersey > My Island > Features > Want a Siesta? ![]() Where do you get your sleep? Want a Siesta?By Carly Lockhart As the French plan to make an afternoon nap law, do you think Jersey should follow suit? As if long lunches and 35 hour working weeks aren’t enough to maintain the relaxed ambiance of the French culture. Now they are considering reviving the siesta too.
French health minister, Xavier Bertrand, suggested that a short afternoon nap might become a legal right to all workers. Under this policy, employees could doze off in special ‘quiet rooms’ provided by management, or pop home and curl up on the sofa. The country already boasts an average 35 days holiday a year compared to a mere 20 days in Britain, prompting other nations to brand the French lazy! However, Mr Bertrand has pledged £5 million to a programme intended to get people to sleep better. He wants companies to allow their employees 15 minute power naps each day. He also believes bringing back the siesta, or ‘la sieste’, will improve efficiency and safety in the workplace. Dr Andy Luksza conducts sleep studies in Jersey and said that having a siesta makes physiological sense. Our usual biological rhythms dictate that we get tired after lunch between the hours of one and three o’clock. He believes that if we were given the luxury of a power nap, it would be particularly pleasant. Forty winks in the afternoon was an activity Sir Winston Churchill indulged in, which never hindered his performance in the political arena. So, what do you think? Will it work in France? Is making it law a step too far? Imagine if St Helier closed down for two hours every afternoon, and shop keepers and office workers alike nipped home for a nap, could it catch on? Would you be frustrated if you had to stop mid shopping spree? Could Jersey adopt the ‘siesta’? Let us know what you think last updated: 04/10/07 Have Your SayDo you think Jersey would benefit from a siesta? Let us know...
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