THE SIESTA CULTURE CONCEPT IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE SLEEP HABITS OF URBAN MEXICAN STUDENTS

Evidence in support for the concept of the so-called 'siesta culture' is not well developed and has, to date, relied largely on qualitative anthropological data. Presumably such cultures are characterized by a strong tendency for daytime naps and daytime sleepiness, phenomena whi ch may partially represent the effects of geographic, climatic or ligh t conditions and/or cultural influences. In this study we surveyed the nocturnal sleep habits and daytime sleep tendencies of 577 Mexican co llege students residing in Mexico City (19 degrees N latitude). Result s indicated a number of parallels between the reported sleep habits of these students and those reported from other cultures at latitudes fa r to the north (North America, Europe), such as longer sleep at the we ekends, an association between snoring and daytime sleepiness and a la ck of relationship between nocturnal sleep duration and the reported t endency to nap. There was some suggestion that these Mexican students may actually nap less when compared to other college student populatio ns. Taken together, these results call into question what is meant by the concept of a 'siesta culture', at least in this urban, educated, u pper social economic scale (SES) population, and suggest that future s tudies in equatorial regions be undertaken to further appreciate the r ole of climate, photoperiod and/or culture in the tendency for humans to nap during the day.