Is the siesta an adaptation to disease? A cross-cultural examination

Why does the practice of the siesta vary across human cultures? One explana tion is that it is a form of energy conservation in environments with high temperatures and/or agricultural labor. Disease palliation and prevention r epresents another area where the siesta might be beneficial. A preliminary study used the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) to examine the characteris tics associated with siesta occurrence. Siestas were not statistically asso ciated with high temperatures or agricultural labor (p >.05). They were, ho wever, statistically associated with the occurrence of malaria (p <.05) and marginally associated with parasitic and chronic infectious disease. Preli minary results suggest that siestas could be adaptive in environments with chronic infectious disease.