I can take a hint, so I preferred inside to out and had to put up with the grunts, yelps and squeals that The Boss describes as “a modern affliction” in the game, along with the pumping of fists at every second winning shot.
I was overhearing snatches of conversation about Spaniards too — the Missus was predicting that the young Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, would snatch the trophy from the Italian Jannik Sinner, as he ended up doing without facing him directly.
And Spaniards came up again, on the hottest day, when there was general agreement in our household that the Spanish knew what to do in the fierce part of the day: take a siesta. I didn’t need the Spanish to tell me, I must say, and it surprises me that it should be novel to anyone.
The Boss quoted The Economist’s recent word on the subject, reminding us that Winston Churchill understood the value of the after-lunch snooze, particularly after a gin and tonic and a fat cigar.
Modern sleep experts would be cautioning about napping after a boozy lunch, but Churchill won a war doing it, and made it until he was 90, so who’s to say? The Boss insists any self-respecting Spaniard would be tucking into a pan con jamón and a glass of Rioja to get into the siesta mood — and I wouldn’t say no to the ham sandwich part myself.
But The Economist did go on about “the power nap” to try to complicate what is a simple idea for a dog. It reported that NASA studied naps back in 1994 and found that a 26-minute power nap enhanced pilots’ physiological awareness and performance.
That explains my above-average stamina, of course, and I have been advocating for the 26-minute power nap since I first learned the word “bone” — although The Boss insists my naps are “significantly longer” and venture into deep sleep territory, missing the point entirely. The experts say if you drift into the 90-minute deep sleep zone you can wake up groggy and lethargic — and have trouble sleeping at night.
I don’t have that problem either, and the science backs me up. Habitual nappers have a 37 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health. Another study, from Sleep Health, claimed habitual napping can slow your brain from shrinking with age, an outcome of which I’m living proof.
The Spaniards must know all this, and it helps them win Grand Slams. Rafa Nadal turned up to watch Carlos win on Sunday night, and Novak Djokovic lived in Marbella, Spain, for a long time, hoping it would rub off on him. As it did.
So why don’t most people follow the example of Spaniards and dogs? The sleep experts say our natural rhythm is to break up sleep into two chunks a day — there’s a natural dip in alertness in the middle of the day, caused by fluctuations in our circadian rhythms.
Most people fight it off, maybe with a coffee or physical activity. Work patterns don’t help, of course, although you’d think a prime minister in wartime would be hard-pressed to find room for a snooze.
In his autobiography, Churchill wrote: “The rest and spell of a sleep in the middle of the day refresh the human frame far more than a long night.” Enough said. Woof!
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