Talk:Siesta

12 hours
This part of the article is without citation and makes no sense: "In recent years, studies have suggested a biological need for afternoon naps. The body is on a roughly 24-hour body clock, which makes you wind down twice (peaking in periods separated by around 12 hours): in the night and in the afternoon." There is no citation for these alleged "studies" and what does it mean "peaking in periods separated by around 12 hours"? Does that mean if you go to sleep at 11 PM you'll feel sleepy again at 11 AM (even though you've only been up for 4 hours)? This part of the article needs to be explained (with citations) or removed. Suitsyou (talk) 07:57, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I think it's correct but poorly written. Will look for proper links. --Hordaland (talk) 23:06, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

it also doesn't make sense because, if we peak in periods of 12 hours, then aren't we on a roughly 12-hour body clock instead of a 24-hour?Thinkdunson (talk) 00:49, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ooops. I forgot all about my promise to do something about that paragraph.  It's really not well-written, since winding down and peaking aren't usually synonyms.
 * But no, Thinkdunson, there's more to the 24-hour clock than strongest sleep propensity. Core body temperature, appetite, urination and several hormones show ~24-hour rhythms.
 * Strongest sleep propensity is not at bedtime, as Suitsyou assumes, but about halfway through the night when you've essentially taken care of the day's acquired sleep debt. The circadian system kicks in then and keeps you asleep until well past the body temperature minimum.  So the 2 a.m. / 2 p.m. rule makes sense in that way.  I don't know that anyone's explained the why of the "post-lunch dip", but it's there.  Sticky note to self: Fix that paragraph. --Hordaland (talk) 09:02, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

"anti-siesta"?
Does anyone know a word for the opposite of a nap, the biological period of wakefulness or semi-wakefulness for an hour or so in the middle of the night? I've seen 'first sleep' and 'second sleep' for the sleep on either side of it, and this is true in several languages, but never anything for the period of wakening itself. Dormeille may be used in French, but that only means being half asleep, not this period in particular.

-- It is called "Tahajjud" in Arabic. (24/12/06)

Anyway, it might be interesting to discuss this in the article. This is the time when many couples talk and make love, as they have some peace and quiet at these hours. kwami 03:13, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

If we go with the "anti" prefix the proper word would be "antisiesta" in one word but the oposed to sleep and siest in spanish is at some extent the "Vigilia" /ßi'xiljia/. 01:44, 13 August 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 181.225.114.199 (talk)

Middle East
Can someone write up a bit on what things are like in the Middle East? AFAIK, things shut down in the afternoon in some parts such as Saudi Arabia but I'm not completely sure Nil Einne 19:44, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

The Middle East is not a country.

Reasons for siesta
In light of recent research from the University of Manchester, UK, the reasons for a siesta should be changed. It currently states that it is only the body temperature reducing that causes sleepiness during the day, but this latest research shows it is glucose in food turning off cells that keep us alert that causes it.

See here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5037720.stm with links to the University, the journal where it was published and the British Sleep Society.

Princess schminke 07:07, 6 August 2006 (UTC)


 * The same article refers to other hypothesis. E.g., that explain why, contrary to the eating-hunger story, we don't get sleepy after breakfast:

Neil Stanley, director of sleep research at the Human Psychopharmacology Research Unit Medical Research Centre at the University of Surrey, said the work was interesting.

But he added: "There are many behavioural, circadian and societal factors that also determine whether we nap in the afternoon or not.

"The siesta is not only dependant on the intake of food.

"We naturally have a dip in alertness around 2pm to 4pm that happens whether we eat lunch or not.

"We also do not get tired after eating breakfast because we are on the rising phase of our circadian rhythm." --Jclerman 07:39, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

"Protection from the sun" section seems like somebody's opinion rather than referenced from a valid source. 12.54.94.22 (talk) 22:25, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Portuguese Origin
In Origins of the iberian siesta say:

"The siesta is the traditional daily sleep of the Southern region of Alentejo, in Portugal, known as sesta. It was adopted also by the Spanish and, through European influence, by Latin American countries and the Philippines."

This is the first time that i hear about this hypothesis, traditionally the origin is in Spain or generally Iberian Peninsula, but Alentejo... Should be put with a "citation required" or i will change it for "iberian origin" only.

-Fco

"Canadian siesta"
I removed this passage because it is clearly absurd:

"In Canada, this is a relatively new social event that occurs on from 13:00 to 14:00. Canadians encorporate this northern siesta into their lifestyles as a technique to prolong the body's energy levels during frigid winters. Canadians that practice this imitate the hibernation techniques of bears that frequent Canadian parks. The Canadian siesta is slowly growing in popularity and studies have shown it increases worker productivity and levels of alertness for children and is a common practice in day cares."

The source is a discussion forum thread (!) on the napping habits of young children. Moreover, I've never heard of such a thing as a "Canadian siesta" and there certainly are no "bears that frequent Canadian parks," unless the author of this passage was referring to national parks far removed from any town or city. In any case, don't bears hibernate for the entire length of the winter?

--Kilgore MTL 00:30, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Possible Vandalism
In the "Origin of Iberian Siesta," it mentions the name "Nick Shader" and "Matt Goodlett." Does anyone else spot these? And what about the Louisville, Kentucky reference, I thought it is a city in USA, not in Iberian peninsula.

No, Americans didn't invented the siesta obviously, since siesta existed before USA was even a country. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.63.166.13 (talk) 18:37, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Total daily sleep hours
The article suggests that the Spanish siesta is a short time of sleep even though the interval allotted to it is much longer. In view of the late time of the evening meal (and therefore of going to bed) in Spain, where the working day starts at the same time as elsewhere, I suggest that the siesta comprises far more than a nap and is necessary to make up the amount of daily sleep needed. Does anybody know what is the average total daily time asleep in the siesta and in the night in Hispanic siesta-practising regions; and whether the two add up to the average night figure in non-siesta countries? - AG, Stockport, UK. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.179.135.217 (talk) 11:51, 12 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't think there is a fixed period of time for a siesta, but usually it goes from 15/20 minutes to one hour. That's why many people take it on a sofa and don't go to bed. Many young Spaniards nowadays don't usually take siestas as the older generations did, some only take them in summer or on holidays, some never do. A relatively recent report said young Spaniards sleep on average one hour less than the rest of Europeans. --Purplefire (talk) 06:28, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it depends on the person schedule, if you have a busy life then you can have a 20 minutes siesta but if you have your afternoons free then you can sleep 2 or even 3 hours siesta. In Spain most business close between 13:00 and 17:00 for people to have time to eat and have a siesta but then the closing time for business is between 20:00-21:00. Some business don't have that break, this is usually foreign franchises or some small business might stay open in very busy or touristic areas.--Napper-- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.63.166.13 (talk) 18:17, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Too much emphasis on hot weather
This is anecdotal or OR so I won't put it into the article. Farmers in Norway have always sova middag, "slept dinner". The main and heavy meal was at noon and people slept for a half an hour or so just afterwards. Some still do, of course. But the bulk of the population now keeps city hours and have dinner between 4 and 6 pm usually. And then many of them søv middag, "sleep dinner". If not every day, the idiom is still very much a part of the language. The word siesta is from southern Europe, but the custom probably exists/existed in many places. The weather may have something to do with it, but it's not just that. --Hordaland (talk) 23:20, 29 December 2007 (UTC)


 * So if there was a Norwegian or Norse "siesta", was there ever an English or British one? And if so, why did it disappear? I suspect the advent of the Industrial Revolution and capitalism may have had much to do with it, as it seems that the English-speaking culture has long promoted early rising (getting up very early in the morning) and early setting (going to bed early) while strongly discouraging, ignoring, or else making impossible any opportunity for naps.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.16.125.178 (talk) 22:14, 18 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree. Too much emphasis on hot weather, though hot weather is just two or three months a year. The article does not explain what happened during the autumn, winter or spring. Did people have siesta in those cooler months?--88.9.60.19 (talk) 12:40, 6 December 2014 (UTC)

Brazil
"Although colonized by Portugal, being part of South America, and clearly dominated by equatorial to tropical climate, Brazil stands in glaring cultural contrast in regard to the adoption of an afternoon nap."

That "glaring" word is inflammatory, as if there's something wrong with Brazil. Does Brazil have a siesta or not? If not, why not? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sluggoster (talk • contribs) 07:40, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi, this is from Brazil. We don't have a siesta. Or at least not the majority of the population; there may be some parts of the country that adopt the siesta, but certainly most of it does not. I have no idea why we don't have it. It surely is a good idea. ;-) I don't know about the "glaring"... it doesn't look that bad to me ;-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.27.134.14 (talk) 13:27, 17 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree that "glaring" is unencyclopedic and, at the least, unnecessary. I've removed it.  --Hordaland (talk) 13:38, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Hey i'm brazilian and we don't have siesta hear. Because it's obvious ,we didn't were colonized by spain. we were colonized by portugal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.53.160.122 (talk) 02:19, 13 June 2008 (UTC)


 * True, and I've changed that sentence (again). But it does seem strange that siesta is called the Iberian siesta.  Portugal is certainly Iberian?  --Hordaland (talk) 12:16, 14 June 2008 (UTC)


 * See "Portuguese Origin" above; it seems that siestas may have indeed originated in Portugal, so the fact that it is largely or almost entirely absent from Brazil must have some other reason than it being colonized by the Portuguese and not the Spanish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.16.125.178 (talk) 22:17, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Northern Spain, Southern Argentina
It says in the article that some parts of countries where siesta is common are colder, like northern Spain and southern Argentina. Are siestas taken in these parts as well? Drogo (talk) 17:48, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

I can confirm from personal experience that the siesta is common in the north of Spain amongst older generations. I have the impression that it is less common amongst younger people. I've never been to Argentina. Thunderbird2 (talk) 17:55, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

In Spain the siesta is taken all over the territory, it has more to do with eating big meals at the early afternoon than with the weather. Spanish people have their main meal between 13:00 and 15:00 and in the north of Spain people do eat enormous quantities of food at this time, specially seafood like crabs and octopus, it's rude of a guest in Spain to eat little, an offense to the host and also mothers tend to overfeed their male offspring. It's true that siesta is becoming less popular for the younger generations because of franchises taking over business and changing traditional Spanish schedule. I for example only have siesta seldomly because it makes me feel sick and confused when I wake up but sometimes the desire for siesta is too great. I have never meet anyone from Spain who doesn't have a siesta from time to time.---Napper-- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.63.166.13 (talk) 18:32, 10 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Hmm, I've heard from people moving from Spain that it's taken more often in southern Spain where it's hot, than in the north, in modern businesses. -- Beland (talk) 07:06, 19 June 2018 (UTC)

Origins of spanish tradition
I came here contemplating the possibility that the Spanish siesta may have been introduced by the Arabs, which would explain the greater importance of a siesta in Spain compared to Italy. (In particular, as the Arabs would have come from a still hotter climate.)

However, I did not find any real information on the origins of the tradition (when, where, for how long, ...), which makes the article somewhat deficient. Even if nothing is known, this should be stated. 94.220.240.132 (talk) 19:22, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Origins of the word are Italian, not Spanish.
It seems ridiculous to me to say that siesta (the word and tradition) is Spanish. It was noted that the word comes from the Latin "hora sexta". Now correct me if I am wrong, but Latin was the language of the Romans, and Rome is in Italy right? And the word AND tradition exist also in the Italian language and culture (and have so for as long if not longer [let's mot forget that they were doing this back in Roman and even Greek times] than in Spanish). So therefore, it seems perfectly obvious that the word is actually of Italian derivation and NOT Spanish as was noted in the article. Really, no offence intended, but the logic is so easy to follow it makes me question the intelligence of whoever wrote it. It's just too easy to say it's Spanish because they are famous for it and have intoduced both the word and idea to a large part of the world. Such imperialistic thinking is born of ignorance and it being here as an historical reference is both misleading and inaccurate. 87.67.244.154 (talk) 14:35, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Philthy I agree, that was my understanding that the Romans brought this tradition to Spain during their occupation of this region. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.216.104.224 (talk) 20:46, 26 July 2010 (UTC)


 * Calm down. I'm going to show you one little example: Think about Japan, they had their own traditions at the time that the Chinese culture (with characters included) arrived in their lifes. So, if they change a chinese word or character to voice one thing of their culture, is Chinese the origin of the word or is it a new word from Japan? I agree that the humans have been taking siestas from the begining of the times, but, the meaning of "hora sexta" it is just "sixth hour", it is not siesta, spaniards changed it, they created a neologism (of that time).
 * --Alegonka (talk) 13:43, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Cat nap/Catnap redirects
Currently Cat nap redirects to Siesta, but Catnap redirects to Nap. Seems a bit loco, no? Though I think most would agree that both forms should point to the same article, I can't find a good reason to pick one over the other. Thoughts? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.246.119.98 (talk) 14:53, 16 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Strange, indeed. The only arguments I can think of is that Power Nap is something recent and Siesta is geographically defined.  Nap is at the top for all of these, and I think catnap and cat nap should redirect to Nap.  --Hordaland (talk) 16:31, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Do siestas reduce one's total sleep need?
Reportedly, people who sleep for <20 minutes in the early afternoon can reap from a 6-hour night sleep the benefits of a 8-hour sleep. If that's true, to any degree—which it may or may not be—then it definitely should be mentioned in the article. EIN  ( talk ) 19:22, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Removal of sections
'Decline in Practice' and the last paragraph of 'Biological Need' are entirely unreferenced and significant statements. Since, as far as I can tell, they've been missing a long time, I have removed them for this reason. If you have a reference for them, then please bring them back and reference accordingly. --Sgtlion (talk) 16:42, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I propose this article be merged into nap. Besides some geographic issues (which can be addressed in their own sections at 'nap') their main content overlaps. In the end one is tempted to think that having two separate articles only serves to perpetuate a certain negative bias against siesta, while keeping a neutral bias regarding "nap" -or even a positive one, by simply calling it a "power nap").  MOUNTOLIVE   fedeli alla linea 12:42, 22 June 2016 (UTC)
 * I am not in favour of merging the articles. "Nap" and "siesta" are two different animals. The latter has profound cultural and climatological relationships. Here in Thailand, I have often wondered why Thais do not employ the siesta to ameliorate the high heat of the afternoons. After all, they nap frequently, but on an ad hoc basis. My hunch is that as the tropics warm over the next decade, SE Asian societies will move to some form of siesta. The siesta changes the whole character of a society. It impacts bank opening hours, when people eat their meals, when they socialize, etc. Naps do not do that. A great deal of overlap in content is an indication that we have not yet done a good job of writing the content. Thanks. Seligne (talk) 13:16, 22 June 2016 (UTC)

Origin of "siesta"
Please, I think that Wikipedia is something serious, this is destined to everybody and also to the autor of the topic, If you have real and certified information about the origin of siesta is wellcome... but if not stay with your opinon at home, Wikipedia is not a gossip diary... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.200.198.120 (talk) 11:32, 22 August 2016 (UTC)

Non sequitur
The article currently states that:
 * [a] two to three hour lunch break [...] is characteristic of Spanish working hours

and further that:
 * the average Spaniard works longer hours than almost all their European counterparts (typically 11-hour days, from 9am to 8pm)

A Spaniard who starts work at 9.00 am, takes a two- to three-hour lunch break, and finishes work at 8.00 pm is not working an 11-hour day, but for 8 to 9 hours a day. This is not significantly different from the total number of hours typically worked daily in other European countries. -- Picapica (talk) 04:11, 22 October 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 20:22, 25 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Shared nap with friends.jpg

Sieste québecoise
Booking a hotel just to take a nap? Yeah, sure thing... interestingly, that hotel also advertises having porn movies. Synotia (moan) 16:52, 6 April 2023 (UTC)


 * I noticed that as well.
 * That "siesta rate" is for prostitution, not sleeping.
 * The use of the word "siesta" as code is not notable with respect to siestas in general.
 * Since this means the image is misleading as it is presented within the article, I am going to remove it. LesbianTiamat (talk) 02:29, 1 February 2024 (UTC)