The French Ministry of Health wants to introduce naps at work.

BarcelonaA week after French Prime Minister François Bayrou proposed the Withdrawal of two public holidays in France to increase worker productivityHealth Minister Yannik Neuder expressed his "very strong support" for the introduction of naps in companies and schools on Tuesday.

"Sleep is not a luxury," the minister said, "it is a non-negotiable necessity, an essential biological process." That's why he wants to encourage companies to provide space for micro-sleeping children "to the extent possible." In defense of the proposal, he asserted that these breaks are already practiced in many European countries and cited corporate social responsibility as a way of convincing them. However, he added that "it's not about imposing measures that are unrealistic" for certain companies, but rather about "making certain jobs attractive," but he did not go into further detail. Neuder also focused on children, who often work "very long days" that don't respect their chronobiology.

In the absence of concrete measures, the government's current approach is to raise awareness among the general public, aiming to understand the importance of sleep and propose measures to isolate bedrooms from outside noise and light, among other things. In the roadmap presented today, the French authorities express concern about the poor quality of sleep among the French population, which doctors say ultimately impacts health and worsens mental and physical illnesses, such as cardiovascular diseases.

According to the data presented in the report, over the past 50 years, French people have lost an average of one and a half hours of sleep per day, and 20% of the population sleeps less than six hours. For children and adolescents, the situation is even worse, as it is estimated that between 30% and 70% do not get the recommended amount of sleep. All of this means that 45% of the population suffers from at least one sleep disorder.