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© L'Oasis Meïso
Special feature
Special Feature
The art of napping
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Susie Waroude
You can find plenty of places to take a siesta this summer! On a deck chair on the banks of the Saône, in a hotel, or even at university. No matter your age, it’s good to take it easy sometimes. Like an invitation to slow down, napping is on the rise, offering a chance to unwind and recharge.
“Their siestas lulled even the most agitated among us into sleep,” reads one of the comments on their website. Félix and Romain Joubert, brothers and musicians, are among the pioneers of the ‘sieste sonore’ (sound siesta) in Lyon. It is a poetic journey where music becomes a material that calms the soul. After meeting the women at the Foyer de l’Auvent in Lyon, and with the support of the concert venue Périscope, they created their ‘Rêveries Sonores’ (sound reveries). More a sonic environment than a concert, they were designed to soothe infants, children and young mothers. By elevating afternoon napping to an art form, they inspired other actors in the local area. Siestas with music, or not (see box), have now firmly established themselves in Lyon, to the delight of napping enthusiasts.
Napping and public health
The experts all agree: we are not getting enough sleep! A survey carried out by Santé Publique France (the French public health agency) in 2019 drew attention to the issue, revealing that people in France sleep for only 6 hours and 55 minutes on average (naps included!), while respondents stated that they need 7 hours and 14 minutes a day to feel in good form. It found that hyperconnectivity and increasingly busy schedules were to blame. Is converting everybody to the art of napping the solution? Perhaps so! Currently, only a quarter of people in France take an afternoon nap, usually at home and on the weekend, but this trend may change in 2023 as it becomes possible to nap in more and more places!
Symbolising a breaking down of the boundaries between work and personal life, afternoon napping is now making its way into offices. Blazing a trail in Lyon, the company Novius created a relaxation area for its employees in 2007. This was a rarity at the time, which attracted the interest of the French investigative newsmagazine show ‘Envoyé Spécial’ a few years ago, and the manager of the startup even admitted to taking an afternoon nap with the employees (to lead by example of course!). All you need is a few bean bags and dimmed lighting. The result? “One hour’s worth of increased productivity a day” and the clearing away of many a taboo. Since then, other companies have taken an interest in afternoon naps, particularly after the pandemic fundamentally changed the landscape: there has been a serious reappraisal of work environments, with a shift of the focus away from solely work and towards socialising and rest.
We are not getting enough sleep!
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Susie Waroude
Slowing down to build stronger
Afternoon napping has also taken hold in the coworking space La Cordée Jean Macé. Thanks to Audrey, the co-workers can now enjoy a “musical siesta” once a month in this space designed to be a “third place”. “The idea came to me while I was watching our co-workers rest on our hammocks, bean bags and sofas during their lunch break. I wanted to transform this individual moment into a shared experience,” she told us. Her playlist? Eclectic, to reflect the many different ways of taking an afternoon nap. Instead of meditative music, this timeless 45-minute break embraces a mixture of styles. “Some people doze off, while others simply enjoy a peaceful break,” said Audrey. It proved to be a success and the co-workers are asking for more.
Similarly, the nap room created on the premises of Ucly (Lyon Catholic University) was rapidly filled with students. The project was initiated by the university’s health division as part of the programme ‘Étudier + dormir = mieux réussir’ (study + sleep = more success). “Students can rest there from 11 am to 3 pm. We have had nothing but positive feedback; so much so that the students on our Carnot campus are asking for one,” enthused Marine Moquet, in charge of student life and guidance.
Perhaps taking an afternoon nap can be a way to respond to some of the issues we are facing today? This is the question addressed by the Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon (Lyon municipal library) in its exhibition ‘Prendre le temps ? Du désir de ralentir à l’urgence d’agir’ (Taking time? From the desire to slow down to the urgent need to take action), which will run until the 17th of June, with various related activities being held in the city’s 16 municipal libraries, including puzzle and cookery workshops, science awareness raising, poetry-sophrology walks and themed siestas.
Three questions for Thierry Petitjean
Head of the sleep health and respiratory discorders unit at Croix-Rousse Hospital
What are the health benefits of taking an afternoon nap?
An afternoon nap offers immediate benefits in terms of alertness, concentration, memorisation and mood. It can also help relieve stress. In some countries, like Japan, it has long been part of the daily routine, as it was observed to increase employee productivity, whether it’s physical or mental work. It also has benefits in terms of cardio-vascular health. During an afternoon nap, the heart rate slows and blood pressure drops. A study conducted by Professor Brice Faraut and his colleagues at the Centre du Sommeil et de la Vigilance, in Paris, found that when people with no particular sleep disorders were deprived of an afternoon nap, they had less tolerance to pain. Their sensitivity returned to normal after they took a nap!
We can all suffer from a lack of sleep during our lives. Can taking an afternoon nap compensate so that sleep disturbances don’t become a lasting problem?
Yes, this is the case, for example, for a parent whose child did not sleep through the night: taking a nap the following day can be helpful. However, afternoon naps are not the answer for all sleep-related problems. For example, if you have a pathology such as sleep apnoea, an afternoon nap will not help you, as you will not benefit from a restorative sleep. You also need to bear in mind that, over the long term, if you don’t manage to sleep well every night, you cannot catch up on your lack of sleep.
What makes for a good afternoon nap?
We all have a peak of hypovigilance, which is set by our body clock, at the beginning of the afternoon. This is why it’s best to take a nap at this time. It is beneficial if it’s short, lasting around 20 minutes. Some people take “micro-naps”, lasting 5 to 10 minutes, which are also effective. An afternoon nap is formed of periods of light sleep and non-REM sleep. Ideally, to recover as much as possible, you should nap in a calm, well-ventilated place without too much light, to benefit from 5 to 10 minutes of this light and then non-REM sleep.
Address book
An oasis of calm
Do you feel the need to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Here’s an address for you that’s one of a kind: Meïso. Here, you can disconnect and turn your attention inward in a sensory deprivation tank. Spend an hour (from €49) in a water-filled cocoon where you can experiment with the feeling of weightlessness, while allowing your mind to wander and releasing tension. You can choose from several packages that combine sensory deprivation with massages, reiki and shiatsu, and even hypnosis.
Hotels for a daytime break
Have you ever heard of ‘day use’? It is a simple concept where, between two visits in the city or business meetings, people allow themselves a break of a few hours by booking a hotel during the day. It offers the perfect opportunity to have a little nap. Visit the website SoRoom to select one of the partner addresses in just a few clicks.
SoRoom
soroom-hotel.com
Yoga for sleep
Work on letting go and achieving a state of lucid consciousness, halfway between hypnosis and meditation... This is what is offered by the studio Small through the practice of Yoga Nidra, which will gently guide you into a restful sleep. The positive effects will soon be felt: relaxation right from the first session and, in the long term, improved sleep quality, reduction of stress, and development of creative spirit. Quick, get me a yoga mat!
SMALL
On the doorstep of sleep
Because there is an art to taking an afternoon nap, Cécile Henry runs introductory micro-napping classes for individuals and companies. Over the course of these guided naps, she explains static and accessible exercises to instantly achieve a state of deep relaxation. You will then be able to put them into practice on your own.
€20 for an individual half-hour session.
My Cup of Time
Drink your wine chilled
Sipping a glass of Crozes-Hermitage wine and appreciating its subtle floral aromas, as you relax in a deck chair... an image of happiness for many! If this is something you dream of, then make your way to ‘Wine Transat’, a micro-festival created and run by the winegrowers of Crozes-Hermitage. This year, it will be held on the 31st of August and 1st of September, with pop-up wine bars, Lyonnais cooks and DJs on the programme. What better way to mark the end of the summer?
crozes-hermitage-vin.fr
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