This great invention called the nap.
A siesta is a custom of resting for a few minutes, or even a few hours, after eating lunch at noon, in order to fall asleep briefly in order to recover energy for the rest of the day or to endure a long night.
This word comes from the Roman sixth hour, which designates the sixth solar hour, corresponding to 12 o'clock. As for time, this siesta can vary from 20 minutes, up to 3 or 4 hours.
The siesta and the late afternoon walk are part of the Cuban customs that have been maintained over time to this day. We leave around 5 in the afternoon to take a good walk, which sometimes takes us to the sea.
A short sleep during the day should be around 20 to 30 minutes to avoid feeling groggy for too long afterwards, some experts suggest.
The best time to take a nap during the day is at 3:00 p.m.; according to the same experts, the ideal time is defined by the natural rhythm of our body, the so-called circadian rhythm, which falls around three in the afternoon, the time that Lola mataron has.
At this time, many people experience drowsiness or inattention, but after a short nap, they tend to be more attentive and creative, their ability to learn improves, and they retain their memories better.
When you're sleep deprived, nothing good happens to your mood, concentration, health and immune system, other experts say.
These same experts specify that sleep should not exceed half an hour, because if you sleep more, you risk falling into a deep sleep that could leave us dizzy for at least an hour more after waking up. On the other hand, if we take a long nap, we may have problems falling asleep at night.
But for the native Cuban, the nap between 2 and 4 in the afternoon is not something negotiable. After lunch, we feel the typical drowsiness of digestion and we will not be useful for anything else for the rest of the day; we have to take a nap for a few hours, then we wake up like new, with a coffee in hand at 4 in the afternoon and ready to finish any task, even remake the world.
Let no one think that taking a good nap will take away our night's sleep. To each his own. After having lived the night properly, we will surely fall exhausted into the arms of Morpheus, to get up early the next day, since the Cuban is by nature a morning person, we get up very early to enjoy the day, knowing that after lunch, we will be able to regain our strength, with a good nap... finally, we are the real experts of life.
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