Powernap | schwingeninswitzerland

I have been remiss. I let a Swiss holiday pass without so much as a word. My apologies. In my defense, until a few days ago, I wasn’t even aware that Turbosieste National Day existed. For those of you who don’s speak French, it means “National Powernap Day”. What a holiday!

How do you celebrate Turbosieste ( aka Turboschlaf in German and Turbosieste in Italian) National Day? Powernapping in public places.

Courtesy of http://www.BuzzillaBlog.com

Powernapping in private is also a common and acceptable (and common) means of celebrating. On March 14, 2012 from 2:00 – 2:15 p.m. everyone in Switzerland was asked to stop what they were doing for a 15 minute nap!

Driving can be dangerous and is even more so on the steep and windy roads that cut through Switzerland’s mountains. Driver fatigue is the cause of 10-20% of the accidents here. To prevent driver fatigue and avoid accidents, the Swiss launched a public service campaign. It encourages pulling off to the side of the road to nap when tired.

I’m not sure that people would feel safe sleeping roadside or at a rest area in the US. Michael Jordan‘s father was famously murdered while napping at a rest area in the US. However, Switzerland is quite safe and there isn’t much danger of being robbed or killed roadside. It is the number one country for the powernap (yet another reason to come visit).