Hacker News Reader

I think it is pretty common in places where the mid day sun makes working difficult and dangerous.

There was a famous line about it for when the British started colonizing Africa, "only mad dogs and English men go out in the midday sun"

Then one can infer that the Brits' recklessness allowed them to build a globe spanning empire to whom the sun never sets.

smirk

From my experience, Italians and in the south of France. The French also shut everything down on Sundays.

In the middle east I’ve also seen people napping in mosques. The large ones remain nice and cool during the hot summer day. Mind you, it was Ramadan, so that might have changed things.

Overall, I expect people in hot climates to sleep through the mid day heat and go back to work later. I for one envy them.

I mean, it makes sense. It's fairly well encoded into the genetics that determine our circadian rhythms. There is a dip in energy levels, corresponding to changed brain waves, that occurs at approximately midday. That 1pm drowsiness is your body just trying to do mammal things.