Germany could introduce siestas at work to help people cope with heat

Health official also suggested cold foot baths under desks and wearing lighter clothing in office

The German government is considering introducing mid-day naps during work hours to help people cope with rising temperatures.

This week has seen several wildfires erupt across the continent, including in Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Switzerland, as a heatwave sweeps sourthern Europe.

Most major Italian cities were placed on red alert for extreme heat on Wednesday, as temperatures soared across most of the country.

While Germany isn’t as badly impacted by the heatwave as some other parts of the continent, the mercury rose to 38.8C in Bavaria this week.

The government is currently evaluating a proposal for businesses to allow mid-day naps to help their staff stay focused and energised during the hotter summer months.

The head of the country’s public health officers association, Johannes Niessen suggested following the example of Spain, where siestas are the norm.

“Get up early, work productively in the morning, and take a siesta at midday,” he said, in an interview published by the RND network,” the BVOeGD chief said in an interview published by the RND network.

“People are not as efficient in strong heat as they are otherwise,” Mr Niessen added. “Moreover bad sleep in the absence of cooling in the night leads to concentration problems.”

He also suggested a cold foot bath under their desks for people working from home, and wearing “lighter clothing, even if the attire rules for an office don’t allow it”.

German health minister Karl Lauterbach, who is currently on holiday in Italy, on Tuesday said a siesta is “certainly no bad proposal”.

A spokesperson for the government on Wednesday said these suggestions had to be “taken very seriously”amid a “massive change in the summer temperatures, Al Jazeera reported.

The BDA, or the employer’s association, said it was open to the idea of introducing mid-day naps at work, and flexible working hours could accommodate longer breaks,The Mirror reported.

People cool themselves at the Trevi Fountain during a heatwave across Italy as temperatures are expected to cool off in Rome, Italy, July 20, 2023. (REUTERS)

According to a report by the World Meteorological Organisation and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is now the fastest-heating continent in the world and has been heating twice as fast as the global average for the last 40 years.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday wrote on Twitter that “heatwaves put our health and lives”, noting that the climate crisis “is not a warning”.

“It’s happening.”