TOUGH TO BE FRENCH (via Brian Hoffman):

Modern life gets a wake-up call from France (The Australian, June 01, 2004)

FRENCH intellectuals have taken up a new cause, which they describe as a defining issue for modern society. They are calling for more sleep.

Philosophers, authors and scientists have joined forces to campaign for the right to nod off, arguing that tiredness is one of the greatest threats to the developed world, particularly France.

The French are turning into insomniacs who have forgotten the joy of snoozing as they strive to lead what they mistakenly believe to be fulfilling, dynamic lives, they say.

Fatigue, loss of concentration, irascibility, depression and an inability to have fun are among the consequences.

The intellectuals blame the problem on the spread of an Anglo-Saxon work-hard, play-hard culture, which leaves people too stressed to sleep, even when they try.

They say the syndrome is exacerbated in France by widespread anguish over globalisation, with people worrying their way through the night.

People should get more sleep. People and productivity would benefit greatly from naps. Things like the school day should be adjusted temporally to fit the natural sleep rhythms of students' bodies. But the problems described here are purely psychological and mostly symptomatic of bad sleep hygiene and the French nervous breakdown, not of the French working too hard.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 5, 2004 8:47 AM