The art of napping: How siestas are the key to a more productive life • FRANCE 24 English

The art of napping: How siestas are the key to a more productive life • FRANCE 24 English

A lighter note for you now. And for many people around the world, the lazy days of summer are here. Plus, it is just after lunchtime in France. And if you put those two things together, you wind up with one incredible opportunity to take a nap. Napping is not just for toddlers anymore. Studies show a daytime sleep can actually be great for adults, too. Afternoon naps have been proven to boost memory, improve job performance, make you more alert, ease stress, and lift your spirits. So with all that in mind, we’re going to talk to one of France’s nap experts, Sebastian Spitzer, who joins me for Entra News. Sebastian, welcome to the show. Hello. I love the way you tell me that I’m a nap expert. Yes, I am. I’m a nap user. You’re also a nap user. You’re also the author of La Petit Philosophy, which can be translated into the little philosophy of napping. You are the perfect person to talk to about siestas. So what is this napping philosophy? That’s it. What is napping philosophy? Before talking about the US or something like that, napping philosophy is the fact of being against what’s going on. It’s it’s kind of fighting against the way the world is going on. I mean this this movement this this constant fluid of of the world. It’s a fact of saying stop. I need a rest. Stop. I don’t want to do it anymore. Stop. I need to to suspend my mind between earth and and ground between necessity and futility. This philosophy is a is a refle reflection thinking about the the concept of an app. What does it means today? How hard it is and why has it been so much uh uh depicted as something bad because we are something like losing one’s time. In fact, it’s not losing one’s time. It’s the gold of time, right? Because you say in the book, I mean, naps have been behind some of the biggest discoveries in human history, some of the greatest works of art. Tell me about that. Yes, of course it is. Uh, when you think about Newton, for instance, Newton is Newton was having a rest under his his uh apple tree at the his parents’ home and Newton while he was between conscious and unconscious having a nap. uh he he had been working hard before for monsters and monsters trying to find the the solution of of gravity uh theories but he didn’t find the the way to to explain it and after a nap when the apple fell down he he he had his ureka moment his uh his epiphany moment his revelation moment and and he was able to to understand this complex link between gravity attractions and so on because he let his mind work uh he’s he let his uh unconscious mind work instead of him. He’d been working hard before and then his unconscious mind told him the solutions. It’s like when you go to the to the to the shrink you lay down, you are always in the same position. You lay down and you find the solution. What’s what was wrong with you? You know, it’s interesting because for many people, I know this is my case, the hardest thing about taking a nap is actually waking up from the nap. Sometimes you’re so deeply asleep, it’s just hard to shake out of it. Do you have any tips? Yes, I do. And my editor is is a genius because he’s been napping a lot and he found the solution. He’s sending to uh to influencers to YouTubers uh the book in the box and with a capsule of coffee. And you know when you drink a small coffee really um before napping and you put your your chrono your alarm 30 minutes 30 30 minutes nap when you wake up you’re ready ready ready to work again your mind is is absolutely ready and the the caffine has done his effect. All right that’s probably my problem. I’m napping way more than 30 minutes. Um here here at France 24 we have people who are working around the clock. What if you’re an overnight worker? someone who gets up at 2 am to host a morning show like happens here. Is a nap a good idea or can it just throw your body clock off? Oh yes, it is absolutely. Uh a friend of mine is leading the institute of money in Paris and he told me that he used to have many many people working with Elise with a French president and you the French president is where he’s is sleeping a very few. is not a good a big sleeper and he often sends messages, texts and so on during the night at 3:00 4 4:00 a.m. and he’s he’s the people working with him are are are exhausted with this reason. So now they took the the habit to have a few naps every day. When I say a few naps, it doesn’t mean one. It it means one or two or three naps. It it’s it’s power naps. You know, maybe they last only five minutes, but then once they’ve done it, they’re ready to work again. Sebastian, it seems like more and more we talk a lot about the business of sleep. I mean, there’s all kinds of different apps that teach us how to relax, how to get into nap mode. Is that really necessary? Oh, that’s a it’s a is it necessary? Well, if if you feel better with it, it’s good. whatever whatever the the fact that I’ve been mentioning it in my book is that uh you see that night or the moment of resting was uh was the last uh unconrete continent for marketing and now marketing has has has been aware that something is happening between these few moments where we are just having a nap resting. So the the logic of capitalism and marketing is that they have to to um to interact with any moment of our life. And now that last moment of moment where we’re having rest or sleeping is now um colonized can we say colonized is now targeted with by marketing users and market and capitalist producers. It’s a very strong um we we just have one minute left. I mean this is a million dollar question. Do you nap every day? Yes, I do. And I feel much better since. All right, you’ve inspired me. I’m going to go I’m going to go home and take a nap. Sebastian Spitzer, thank you so much. Your book is called La Petite. Hopefully will be coming out in English soon and all of our viewers can check it out. Sebastian Spitzer, thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. Good.

Napping isn’t just for toddlers anymore. Studies show that a daytime sleep can be great for adults too. Afternoon naps have been proven to boost memory, improve job performance, make you more alert, ease stress and lift your spirits! Sébastien Spitzer, author of “Petite philosophie de la sieste” or “Little Philosophy of Napping”, tells us why.
#France #napping #siestas

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