Anyone walking through the crowded streets of downtown Mexico City on Friday saw a strange and sleepy scene.
With bright blue yoga mats, sleeping masks, and travel pillows, many Mexicans lay on the ground at the base of the city’s famous Monument to the Revolution to take a nap. This event, called the “mass siesta,” was organized to mark World Sleep Day.
This was also a way to protest for sleep to be considered a crucial part of health and wellness.
Some people used bright orange blankets, while others prepared their phones to play calming music as they slept.
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(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
One of the nappers was 52-year-old mariachi musician Manuel Magaña, who was listening to music next to his wife and 9-year-old daughter, who fell asleep holding hands. Magaña heard about the event on the news when he was looking for something fun to do with his granddaughter.
He said he connected with the idea because as a mariachi, he had long and irregular work hours, often going to bed as the sun would come up.
“As a musician I work at night, and I rarely get good sleep during the day. Sometimes we forget to eat, sometimes all we get is a little nap,” he said.
The event was arranged by the Center for Sleep and Neurosciences and the Mexican Society for the Investigation of Medicine and Sleep (SOMIMS).
As participants started to fall asleep, organizers on stage chanted and guided them through meditation. They also shared tips for falling asleep, like getting plenty of natural light during the day and turning off phones at night.
Oscar Sánchez Escandón, a director of the event and president of SOMIMS, stated that the event aimed to bring attention to “sleep inequality” worldwide.
“We live in a society that is full of economic, social and political commitments, where everything matters other than rest. That can have a strong impact on health,” he said.
Almost half of Mexicans reportedly struggle with sleeping, according to a study by the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Mexico was named the most overworked country in the world by a 2019 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This report compared working hours among many countries.
Last year, Mexico’s congress discussed a proposed reform to officially reduce the weekly work hours from 48 – the average for many Latin American nations – to 40, which is the standard for much of the world. The proposal was put forward by Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, but the discussion got postponed to 2024.
Gabriela Filio, a 49-year-old nurse, brought her 25-year-old daughter to encourage Mexico’s younger generations to strive for a better work-life balance.
“We are in a country where the paychecks often don’t add up. Sometimes we have to work two jobs, but we also need to make sure to care for our sleep quality,” Filio said, stretching out to take a quick rest.
