But, it's not all about a much-needed snooze in peak heat. Contrary to what most travelers think, Italians don't nap for three hours — they close their doors to go home, cook, eat with family, and rest a little.
In Italy siesta is known as riposo. Shops are closed midday for three hours or so, that way Italians get to go home, rest, and be with family. Riposo to Italians means enjoying a home cooked meal and spending time with family. Nothing beats the summer heat than laughter and being in the company of the people you love.
Italians have a similar mid-afternoon nap time by the name of “riposo”. These naps are taken as the typical time most Italians wake up is around sunrise, so it makes sense as to why they need a quick rest around 2pm or so. They're also fans of their coffees, so whether it's a riposo or a cappuccino, Italians enjoy it.
Siesta is a custom throughout Spain and other Mediterranean countries. Derived from Latin meaning "sixth hour," the siesta is a time for people to rest and recharge in the middle of their day.
But no other group of people takes their naps quite as seriously as those living in Spain. The siesta - which means "a midday or afternoon rest or nap" - has become a big part of Spanish culture. Many businesses in Barcelona and other parts of the country still shut down every day so that siestas can take place.
In Spain, the siesta reflects a late-night lifestyle, but in Australia, the best reason for napping is sleep deprivation. There is also the rather brilliant 'coffee nap', where you slam down a shot of the good stuff before dozing, so that the caffeine hits you right when you wake up.
Americans and Japanese tend to nap more than people in Germany, Mexico, or the U.K. 65% of Canadians do not nap at all. Siestas are the most common throughout Spain, the Mediterranean, and countries with strong Spanish influence. Siestas, or mid-day naps, were first mentioned in the Koran, the religious text of Islam.
Overall, Japanese people sleep on average 7 hours and 22 minutes a day, the shortest time among the 33 countries, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the OECD. The survey covered 30 OECD members, including Japan, as well as China, India and South Africa.
Japan and South Korea have by far the lowest amount of sleep per night. Both less than 6.5 hours. A probable cause is the high-pressure working culture. In both countries it's very common to work overtime.
According to the data analyzed by the Online Bulletin and PR Service B2Press New Zealand, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that sleep the most, while almost 50 percent of the people in Turkey state that they sleep 8 hours a day, which increases to 10 hours on weekends.
In Italy, the average bedtime is 12:35 am. People in Italy also tend to get up relatively early, waking up before 8:00 am. The average time people in Italy wake up is 7:52 am.
Pennichella is one of the most common words for nap in Italian.
The Typical Italian Dinner
Italian dinner or la cena, usually from 8:00 to 10:00pm, is another time that Italians enjoy sitting down together and socializing.
In many countries around the world, people take a break after lunch to enjoy some relaxation. This afternoon break is especially popular in Spain and Italy–commonly known as the Spanish word “siesta.” This mid-day break is a time-honored tradition in many parts of Italy.
Most of your neighbors are average Italian citizens with families and full-time jobs, in need of 7-8 hours of sleep every night. By law, silence is required between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and again between 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please respect this law by keeping noise to a minimum during these hours.
Historians believe it originated to give farmers time to rest and restore energy in hot climates, but now Spain, Italy and other European countries use the midday pause to go home, eat a leisurely lunch with family and often nap.
Results: Prevalence of insomnia was 5.4% (Netherlands), 10.0% (Japan), 10.5% (Australia), 11.0% (UK), 13.4% (US), 14.6% (Germany), 21.7% (France), 23.5% (South Korea), 24.0% (China), and 30.5% (Brazil).
Where in the world are Oura members getting the most sleep? The Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden come out on top, followed by the Oceanic countries, New Zealand and Australia, with the U.S., Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Slovakia rounding out the top 10.
According to a 2021 survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Japanese sleep an average of seven hours and 22 minutes. This is the shortest duration among the member countries and almost an hour less than the OECD average of 8 hours and 24 minutes.
Although New York City may be the most prominently recognized city termed "The City That Never Sleeps", and the city's subway system never closes, the term has been applied to other cities.
We may like to think we're a party nation but Australians have the earliest bedtime of any country, according to a new study of global sleep patterns. The University of Michigan research found cultural factors affected when people went to bed and for how long they slept.
As a general rule, most nations get around seven hours of sleep per night, which makes Japan's national average fairly shocking. There are a number of hypotheses on why the country is so sleep deprived, including the long working hours and long commutes.
For most people, the best time to take a nap is either just before or during the post-lunch dip. The post-lunch dip is the period of decreased alertness and productivity often experienced after a midday meal. As a result, a brief snooze around 12:30 p.m. or around 2 p.m. may reduce afternoon sleepiness.
Meaning sleep can become quite rare thing. Therefore, many Japanese workers are known to take a powernap at work – mostly in secret, sat on a toilet seat. Not ideal and so last year, two Japanese companies, Koyoju Plywood Corporation and Itoki, even decided to join forces in order to develop a solution to that problem.
"Try to limit [your naps] to 20 minutes," Dr. D'Ambrosio recommends, as does The National Sleep Foundation. A 20-minute nap (do set an alarm!) provides you with some light sleep without dipping into the deeper stages of sleep—this helps you feel refreshed and still avoid throwing off your nighttime sleep.