News of a study showing that a short nap during the day may help to protect the brain’s health as it ages has resulted once again in frequent deployment of what is, for Spaniards, the dreaded S-word.
Although all the recent talk of siestas may call to mind restful visions of daytime dozes, the very notion of a long daily nap in most of 21st-century Spain is as outdated as it is cliched and irksome. In fact – barring anglosajón attempts to add chorizo to paella – there are few surer ways to annoy a Spaniard than to suggest the entire nation crawls into bed every day for a three-hour kip.
Far from being an indolent slumber, the siesta of old was a much-needed escape from agricultural work in the punishing heat of the summer afternoon. But as time moved on, Spain’s economy diversified and more and more people left rural areas for big cities, the practice began to fade out. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Friday, June 23, 2023
