A nap a day keeps the doctor away
Survey to mark 14th annual Day of Sleep finds that French workers manage less than 7 hours sleep a night
WORKING people in France do not get enough sleep, a survey has found.
And experts warn that the lack of sleep is impacting on their health as well as their ability to work effectively.
The study was conducted on behalf of the National Institute of Sleep to mark the 14th Day of Sleep, and revealed that most working people enjoy less than seven hours sleep when they have work the following day.
Experts agree that a brief nap, ideally just after lunch, improves memory, attention, reaction time, and ability to concentrate.
People who have napped are less likely to make mistakes at work or have accidents, and enjoy better general health.
But napping has a bad image. “Sleeping is considered a waste of time. It shows that we is not effective, that we are lazy,” said Dr Sylvie Royant-Parola, psychiatrist and president of Morpheus network which studies sleep disorders and supports sufferers.
Since 2006, workers at about a dozen businesses in France have benefited from so-called “nap spaces”, where they are able to put their heads down for up to 20 minutes.
Professor Damien Léger, of the sleep centre of the Hotel Dieu in Paris, said: "A nap improves immunity and plays an important protective role.”
