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MEXICO CITY (AP) — People walking through Milling Street in downtown Mexico City on Friday encountered a strange, sleepy sight.
Armed with bright blue yoga mats, sleeping masks and travel pillows, hundreds of Mexicans were sprawled out on the ground at the foot of the city’s iconic Monument to the Revolution, taking a nap. The event, dubbed a “collective siesta,” was held to commemorate World Sleep Day.
It was also a protest to encourage sleep to be considered an important part of health.
Some participants wrapped themselves in bright orange blankets, while others readied their phones to play soothing music while they slept.
Among those napping were mariachi player Manuel Magaña, 52, who was wearing earphones next to his wife, and their 9-year-old daughter, who slept holding hands. Magaña heard about the event on the news while looking for something fun to do with his granddaughter.
The idea struck a chord with him, he said, because as a mariachi he worked long, irregular hours and often went to bed just as the sun rose.
“As a musician, I work at night and rarely sleep well during the day. Sometimes I forget to eat, and sometimes I only manage to take a short nap,” he said.
The event was organized by the Center for Sleep and Neuroscience and the Mexican Society for Medical and Sleep Research (SOMIMS).
As participants began to fall asleep, a host on stage chanted, guiding participants into meditation. It also listed tips to help people sleep, including getting plenty of natural light during the day and turning off mobile phones at night.
Oscar Sánchez Escandon, director of the event and president of SOMIMS, said the event aimed to highlight “sleep inequality” around the world.
“We live in a society full of economic, social and political commitments in which everything but rest is important. That can have a huge impact on health,” he says. I did.
According to a study by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, nearly half of Mexicans report having trouble sleeping.
A 2019 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report that compared working hours in dozens of countries around the world named Mexico as the world’s most overworked country.
Last year, Mexico’s Congress debated a reform proposal that would formally lower the working week from 48 hours, the average in many Latin American countries, to 40 hours, the norm in many countries around the world. The idea was proposed by Mexico’s ruling party Morena, but discussions have been pushed back to 2024.
Gabriela Filho, a 49-year-old nurse, brought her 25-year-old daughter with her in hopes of encouraging Mexico’s younger generation to promote better work balance.
“In the country we live in, salaries are often not enough. Sometimes you have to work two jobs, but you also have to take care of the quality of your sleep,” Fillio says lightly. I said as I stretched out to rest.
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