Tourism reinvents the traditional afternoon nap
From Elizabeth Nash in Madrid

THE siesta won't lie down. Spaniards persist in enjoying an afternoon snooze whenever they get the chance, in defiance of efforts to shorten Spain's working day and match its idiosyncratic hours with the rest of Europe.

Now, rather than dismiss the lunchtime nap as a lazy throwback that subverts the working day, enterprising companies are bowing to the inevitable and accepting it. The siesta is being re-invented as "Iberian yoga" - a cool adjunct to modern life that promotes wellbeing and alertness in today's stressful world.

Long hailed as the country's greatest contribution to civilisation, the siesta - described this week by the conservative daily ABC as "Spain's secret weapon" - is undergoing a relaunch.

Hoteliers in the southern tourist hotspot of Seville are trying to lure clients back from the beach to the sizzling city by offering rooms between 3pm and 7pm at 30% of the normal rate, to slumber through the hottest hours. The intention is that you emerge refreshed to enjoy what Spaniards savour as the best part of the day: late afternoon, sunset and after dark.

With the slogan "After eating I sleep", the campaign encourages clients to book their hotel siesta from the restaurant where they're enjoying their leisurely wine-laced lunch.

That way they are not tempted to jump in the car - a large proportion of alcohol-related road accidents take place after lunch - or stumble back to work half asleep.

"Every decent lunch deserves a period of repose afterwards. And every day in this hot season needs a period of refreshment of the mind," Manuel Otero, president of the Association of Sevillian Hoteliers, said last week.

"Midday in the summer in any Spanish city is enough to break the will of the most stubborn and determined person," he added.

With global warming, Spain's summers are getting fiercer and most people, at work or play, wilt as the high temperatures kick in. The trick is to pace yourself as generations have done.

Businesses have come to recognise that workers benefit from a mid-afternoon break and some have even installed soothing siesta zones with reclining chairs for their employees to snatch 40 winks after lunch, with a 15-minute massage thrown in.

Studies confirm what every office worker knows: that between 2pm and 4pm you feel a little sluggish. Research worldwide shows that productivity improves among those who nap after lunch, the Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia noted last year. "A short rest after lunch could soon become the norm," predicted the tough voice of Catalan capitalists.

"Companies want their workers to be as motivated as possible, and may invest in anything to promote their happiness and relaxation, and that includes the siesta," said Francisco Loscos, professor at Barcelona's Esade business school.

Spain's politicians have tried without success to modify habits that include lunching at teatime and playing football at bedtime. The first attempt to shorten the day by squeezing the lunch break was in the 1980s, in preparation for joining the European Union. The government tried again in 2005, to cope with a globalised economy. But Spaniards reject an early hurried lunch as ludicrous: they insist the long late meal is the best opportunity for important face-to-face work.

At present, Europeans lunch while Spaniards stroll to their morning coffee. Europe returns to work at 2pm, while Spain prepares for a two-hour meal. At 5pm, when most Europeans think of knocking off, Spain works another three hours. By the time Spaniards dine, Europeans are mostly asleep. Pan-European business has to be conducted between staggered international mealtimes. Without a break, Spain's working day is exhaustingly long.

But with the shorter day unenforceable, Spanish business is rehabilitating the siesta, which is now set to join the office gym, crèche and language classes as perks offered by forward-looking employers to ensure a happy and productive workforce.

Legend has it that the siesta was invented by the Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V who, after lunch, would take one of the iron keys to his chambers and retire to sit on his throne. When his eyelids fell and his grip loosened, the key slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor, waking him with a start and bringing the siesta to an end.

Commentators have seized upon the expression "Iberian yoga" - coined by the Nobel prizewinning writer Camilo Jose Cela - to update this deeply entrenched and much loved custom.