Bedtime
 

Apparently Spanish kids go to bed too late

I've often wondered about that - also how adults get up and go to work after having dined at midnight.

Re: Bedtime
 

Spanish eating hours is something I've never managed (or even tried) to adjust to. I couldn't possibly eat a meal at 11pm and go to bed an hour later, even though I don't have to get up and go to work in the morning!

I normally eat around 7pm now, if I'm at home, which is actually earlier than I did on the UK on many days, because I don't have to deal with getting home late from work.

Re: Bedtime
 

Its a good point, I've often wondered that as well, and eventually put it down to why they have to have a little nap in the afternoons :D

Re: Bedtime
 

The later the kids go to bed the better your chance of a lie in :thumbsup:

Re: Bedtime
 

I'm interested to know whether "bedtime" is at a similar time throughout the country. I suspect there is a big difference between north and south, and between the cities and campo. I'm sure that farm workers who have to be up at dawn, rarely stay up late (or take long siestas). People who've sampled the nightlife in Madrid or Barcelona may believe that all adults stay out until 4 or 5 in the morning. Yet there are many who rarely frequent the bars, and even those that do, may finish their last cana or gin-tonic at 10 in Barcelona or 11 in Madrid.

I think those who dine out late (and remember it's a minority) will then skip breakfast at home before going to work, which is why the mid morning coffee and snack is so important.

Re: Bedtime
 

A lot of my neighbours certainly don't eat their evening meal until around 11pm, as we can tell from the cooking smells wafting out into the street!

Most still seem to observe the siesta hours too - something else I just can't do, sleeping in the middle of the afternoon!

Re: Bedtime
 

Kids who go to school don't take a siesta, My neighbours ate around 10.30pm (later at weekends) but their two younger kids ate earlier and went to be around 9.30 pm. In most places where there are no ex-pats the bars start to empty at 9.45. I couldn't eat before 8pm whichever country I am in.

Re: Bedtime
 

When my husband was alive we never ate before the sun went down. Way to hot to be cooking. We ate around 10/11pm went to bed after 12 sometimes nearer 1am. He managed no problem to get up for work at 7.30 at work by 8.30 having had his breakfast before leaving. He never had siesta work days or weekends. Now I eat when hungry and go to bed when I am tired :lol: sometimes meal at 7pm sometimes 9 or 10pm seldom in bed by midnight often 2am and awake most days by 8am. Never have siesta.

Re: Bedtime
 

I don't know about bedtime but our catalan neighbours seem to start their lunch at about 2:30pm and their evening meal around 10pm or later. In the summer they sit outside to eat and at the weekends you can hear their visiting grandchildren (all under the age of 10) chatting away. When I go out with our dog at what is last thing for us they are usually still in mid-meal.

When we used to come out here on holiday it was a standing joke that we were always the first in a restaurant when it opened at 8pm. Now that we live here if we want to eat out we go for lunch. We have our evening meal at home at 7:30. If I go to bed too soon after a meal I have a terrible night and I find it hard to stay awake much after 11pm.

Re: Bedtime
 

Interesting that they say children need between 9 and 11 hours sleep a night - I wonder if it matters whether that is all in one go or split between night-time and siesta?

In the south it's common for small children go out with their parents on summer evenings when it's cooled down a bit, and are still playing in the square at 1 or 2 am. There is no school for three months in the summer so it doesn't matter what time they get up. They always have a sleep after lunch, maybe from 4 till 6 or 7, so they still get their 9 hours or whatever. The evening "meal" is very light, often just a snack, anything heavy like rice, lentejas or potatoes is a no-no.

In the winter months everything changes and during the week the streets are usually deserted after 9 pm.

Campo workers usually start work before it gets light especially if they are looking after livestock, and also sleep after lunch.

Re: Bedtime
 

I'm very much a Siesta person myself and have been for longer than I can recall,not only in Spain but in every country where I've worked and lived.

I think it was Churchill who said that an hours shuteye on an afternoon was worth two at night.

I've always found it made a great deal of difference to extending both my working and leisure time hours a long way beyond what they would have been with only night time sleep.

Re: Bedtime
 

around here the kids can have a siesta - lunchtime is 12:30 - 3pm in the primary schools (so plenty of time for a siesta) & secondary schools finish at 2-3pm - the teens very often have something to eat & then take a quick nap


that said - when my two were in primary school I remember one parents' meeting where the teacher was very vociferous about wanting the Spanish mums to take a leaf out of the English mums' books & start sending their kids to bed earlier!

Re: Bedtime
 

The National Sleep Foundation research backs this up!

Re: Bedtime
 

If I have a 40 minute nap in the afternoon I feel like crap for the next two hours.:(

I suppose we're all different...

Re: Bedtime
 

So do I. I feel worse than before I slept. OH is opposite it does seem to refresh him.

Re: Bedtime
 

I've never been able to nap - but a friend of mine says that 20 minutes is the optimum - more than that & it makes you feel worse

Re: Bedtime
 

I am the same, although I find it very difficult to drop off to sleep in the afternoon anyway. I generally go to bed by midnight and find no difficulty in sleeping through until 9.00 am or even later - I reckon I'm still catching up on sleep deprivation after years of having my alarm set for 5.30 am!

Re: Bedtime
 

Yes I've heard that too. I've tried it and does seem to work. I often doze of after lunch for about 15 minutes and feel a lot better for it.

Re: Bedtime
 

I think its a matter of what the body is used to and looks upon as a normal timetable.

I began taking Siestas as a necessity in the UK, because I often had to work much of the night as well as most of the day.
It was slightly upsetting at first, but for a great many years now it has been the norm and the one to two hours afternoon sleep now leaves me even more refreshed than the night time sleep and the added bonus is that I have more active hours out of the 24 than I used to have with only the night sleep.

I reckon old Churchill had it right.

Re: Bedtime
 

I used to work 4hrs on 4hrs off over a 24hr period, then get 24hrs off. When you have worked this for several months the pattern sets in but it takes time.
The worst shift pattern I worked was 8hrs on 4hrs off, 4hrs on 8hrs off, which even after 3 months was difficult to settle into.

I usually found it difficult to sleep much longer than a couple of hrs in the afternoon, especially if I was due on shift at 4pm, couldnt settle.

Even now I rarely sleep much longer than 4hrs at a stretch at night.