Siesta

National Siesta Day has the evidence that two sleeps a day is natural and that there's nothing Spanish about the siesta.

Your eyes are glazing over in front of the computer screen - but you can't fall asleep. The sunshine is trying to get through the sealed office windows, it's telling you take it easy and relax, but you're still toiling on regardless.

And that's all wrong, say the organisers of National Siesta Day, held this week, who argue that it's common sense and good health to take a nap during the day - because that's the way human beings are designed.

"Most people stay awake all day rather than taking a nap - but they're fooling themselves. If they're tired, they make mistakes and are more likely to have accidents. They can't think as clearly," says Noel Kingsley, spokesperson for Siesta Awareness.

You know it makes sense Taking a short nap is the answer, he says. It's a case of "listening to our bodies". "There is a natural dip in energy, about 12 hours after the deepest sleep; we get drowsy and there's a drop in body temperature. We need a short nap to refresh ourselves." But why don't we?

If you said you were going to pound on a treadmill in the gym for an hour during lunch, everyone would think you were a model worker. If you said you fancied snoring for an hour, would you get the same approval? Waking up with a keyboard indentation on your face doesn't quite spell management material.

"Falling asleep is associated with laziness and boozy lunches - when it has nothing to do with that. It's responding to what's natural. If businesses were more far-sighted they'd see that it helps people to perform."