Wherefore art mine siesta?

Another long day without air conditioning at work, and I’m left to ponder the siesta.

Yes, the American working class somehow got screwed out of this very rational, utilitarian cultural concept. Why, oh, why must we be chained to the puritanical notion that an afternoon nap is somehow evil, slothful and inefficient?

Biologically, we’re rigged to hit an energy lull in the afternoon. We’re not so alert. We work more slowly. We make more (potentially costly) mistakes.

The good folks at NASA tell us that 26 minutes of napping equals a 34% improvement in performance and 54% improvement in alertness. Study after study demonstrates that a little shuteye could help us achieve all those “think outside the box,” “work smarter, not harder,” “good luck is created with hard work” platitudes. So why does the American productivity machine reject this fairly obvious cause/effect, problem/solution formula?

Simply this: As much as modern society heaps sacred reverence upon the gods of Science, it just can’t shake off its puritanical roots.