In Jamaica, we have a name for the post-meal laziness that supposedly afflicts Black people: “niggeritis.” The truth is, it has nothing to do with race because as far as I can tell, it afflicts everyone.
It looks like researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health agree, and they think that we should pay attention to it because we ignore the mid-day urge to take a nap at our own peril.
The report starts with the following:
Like to kick back for an afternoon siesta? Good news: a new study shows that regular napping may cut your risk of dying from a heart attack or other heart problems.
In the largest study to date on the effects of midday snoozing, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Athens Medical School in Greece, tracked 23,681 apparently healthy men and women, ages 20 to 86, for more than six years.
I like the part that says Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially in the United States, where employers are not exactly known to encourage workers to nap.
Now that’s what I call a good reason to move back to work in the Caribbean.
If I ever work for someone else again, I plan to tell them right up front that I have a congenital heart condition that requires occasional naps to prevent it from one day killing me.
Good luck with that! 😉