Collective Nap Amidst Busy Street in Mexico to “Promote Rest”
Approximately 200 people took part in a collective nap organized Friday amidst the street, in one of the busiest and noisiest streets of Mexico, marking the World Sleep Day.
According to the Agence France-Presse, participants lay on synthetic mats, rested their heads on pillows, and covered their eyes with masks, disrupting traffic for some time, adding to the bustling atmosphere of Mexico City’s downtown, in a “peaceful demonstration for the right to sleep,” according to organizers.
Dr. Guadalupe Tiran, from the Sleep and Neuroscience Center which organized this initiative with the Mexican government, explained to AFP that making sleep “a highlighted event, can help launch new public policies” aimed at promoting rest.
She added: “We have long working hours, but companies do not have designated nap areas.”
A guided meditation session allowed some participants to delve into deep sleep, manifested by loud snoring, while others simply relaxed for some time.
The participants in the collective nap were diverse; among them retirees, a mother with her young daughter, and several passersby joined them.
Alexia González, a 24-year-old psychologist from the state of Morelos (central Mexico), noted that “sleep and rest are very beneficial for enhancing attention.”
