Spanish Siesta Culture Lets Entrepreneur Turn Naps Into Gold (bloomberg.com) 45
An anonymous reader shares a Bloomberg report: There's little that's more Spanish than the afternoon siesta. As the mid-day sun goes up, businesses in small-town Spain pull down their shutters for a traditional nap. In big urban centers, modern business trends have ended that habit, leaving many Spaniards who work long hours exhausted. Now, Maria Estrella Jorro de Inza has found a way to bring back the siesta, making money while her countrymen nap. Bankers, lawyers and consultants catch up on their sleep at Siesta and Go -- Madrid's first nap-bar located in Azca, in the heart of the city's financial district that's home to firms like HSBC, Google and Deloitte. The concept is simple: for just 14 euros ($16) an hour, you get to unwind and take a power nap in a private bedroom before heading back to work. "It's funny that we're known for the siesta, but we haven't been professional about it," said De Inza, the nap-bar's 32-year-old founder. "We get a lot of men in suits who just want to relax and women wanting to take their heels off. Lunch break is the busiest time."
Flexiblity during the workday (Score:2)
I wish that more employers whose workers didn't do shift-work or didn't have to work closely with other people were more flexible about downtime during the day. There have been days when a quick 30 minute nap would've really benefited me, but I've seen coworkers get in trouble when discovered asleep at their desks.
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I liked the flexible hours I had in my previous jobs as long as I was working during the core hours and let people know the times I would be unavailable.
Re:Flexiblity during the workday (Score:4, Informative)
I believe there's been scientific study into showing that the siesta isn't just something cultural, but actually human. And afternoon performance does significantly improve after the siesta. It's also not strictly Spanish, for Italy also has it.
There's a natural low in energy around 2pm or so.
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Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the Mid-day sun.
In the warmer latitudes, especially before air-conditioning, the post-noon hours are the hottest, most uncomfortable time of day. Between post-prandial torpor and natural biorhythm, it's only natural to want to sleep until the heat has weakend. And then there's the UV exposure factor for outdoor workers. Despite the opinions of people from chillier climates, however, this doesn't have to mean working less - more evening time is employed (also note that winte
Finally... (Score:2, Funny)
...a hotel that's pay by the hour. I don't know why nobody has ever thought of this before!
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I don't see how they make money, unless they have slaves to change bedsheets (or don't change bedsheets at all).
And honestly I find it a bit unappealing. When they have their rush hour, it means that you get in a bed warmed by someone else, like a warm toilet seat during a busy event at the stadium. No thanks.
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I worked in Spain for a while, but it was a German company so we kept "normal" office hours. To be fair, our building had decent aircon so the heat wasn't so bad.
What was funny (to us) was turning up at restaurants around 9 p.m. and finding them setting up.
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That's the hour where the people here begin to have dinner, so it's sensible. Schedules in Spain are offsetted by 2-3 hours, due to our peculiar timetables and the relative daylight hours.
Restaurants and meals in Spain generally are a different thing than in anglo-centered countries. They have very heavy social component to it, as if it were a party of sorts. And we enjoy good food. Very hobbit-like, so to speak.
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I think it's a general thing in Romantic countries - France and Italy are similar. My dad was convinced there's something about Italian beer and wine because while on a trip in Italy, he'd have a drink with dinner and not feel the effects as much as back here in Canada. I simply poin
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Mmmmmm the word afternoon does exist in spanish, is "tarde".
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The word 'afternoon' does not exist in Spanish nor does the concept exist in Spanish minds. They eat between 3-5 p.m.
La palabra es "tarde"... that's pronounced tar-day not tard, which would be you.
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The word 'afternoon' does not exist in Spanish nor does the concept exist in Spanish minds. They eat between 3-5 p.m.
Which planet is your Spain in? On this one, "tarde" means afternoon and evening - and in tropical and sub-tropical realms, the day fades slowly compared to an English December.
Hispanic countries often don't have actual dinner until about 10:00pm.
Beats the hell out of sleeping in my vehicle (Score:3)
Nudge nudge (Score:2)
"We get a lot of men in suits who just want to relax and women wanting to take their heels off. Lunch break is the busiest time."
Know what I mean?
Bad business model (Score:2)
Common in Japan (Score:1)
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There are places like this in Japan, one a few minutes walk from my work place in Downtown Tokyo. It's basically sound proof, clean, even offers some tea etc. They are great.
I have stayed in the Capsule Inn in Roppongi several times. It is the best deal in Tokyo. There is a TV built into the ceiling of each capsule, so you watch it laying flat on your back. The best part is the hot tub in the basement. The water in the tub is nearly hot enough to make tea, which lowers the sperm count of Japanese men so much that they have one of the lowest birthrates in the world.
List of countries by birthrate [wikipedia.org]
Not true (Score:1)
I am spanish, and the nap thing is a thing of the past. We work 10-12 hour shifts, we are basically the slaves of Europe.
We'd love to nap, though.
Siesta made sense in the past (Score:2)
Are NAPS for Luddites? (Score:1)