A Spanish mayor has issued an official edict insisting that all those living and working in his town be allowed to take a three-hour nap every afternoon.

西班牙一位市长颁布了一个官方法令，要求所有生活工作在本市的人每天下午午休3小时。

Joan Faus Vitoria, the mayor of Ador in the province of Valencia, has formally designated the hours between 2pm and 5pm as a time for locals to take their afternoon siestas.

巴伦西亚省阿尔多市市长琼·福斯·维多利亚已经正式指定下午两点到五点是本地人午休时段。

During the official nap time - the first of its kind to be introduced in Spain - parents have been told that children must be kept indoors and residents and tourists are instructed not to make unnecessary noise.

这是西班牙首次引入官方午休时段。在此期间，家长必须让孩子待在室内，居民和旅客不能制造多余的噪音。

Mr Vitoria said the plan was introduced as a way for farm employees and manual laborers to take a break from work at a point in the day when temperatures reach their peak.

市长维多利亚表示，这项计划是为了让农场员工和体力劳动者在一天气温最高的时候停下工作休息一会儿。

His edict states that the three-hour pause be respected by employers.

这项法令标明雇主必须遵守这项规定。

As well as allowing residents to return to their properties and spend a few hours catching up on sleep, the siesta time is also intended to bring quiet to municipality of Ador.

除了允许居民回到家中午休几个小时外，规定午休时间也意在使阿尔多市更清静。

A key rule is that locals who choose not to spend their time sleeping are not allowed to use the siesta period to carry out work that makes any noise. Mechanics, for example, wouldn't be allowed to test cars engines in case in wakes neighbors.

一个关键的规定就是，选择不午休的居民不得利用午休时间来开展任何制造噪音的工作。比如，机械师不得在此期间测试汽车发动机，以防打扰邻居。

Meanwhile parents have also been asked to ensure their children play indoors during the three-hour period to avoid noise travelling into open windows.

同时，父母要保证孩子在午休期间在家中玩耍，以免噪音从开着的窗户传出。

Mr Vitoria said that those found guilty of breaking the rules will not face penalties, adding that the edict should be treated as 'merely a suggestion' rather than an 'obligation'.

市长维多利亚表示，违规的人不会受到惩罚，而且此规定“只是一个建议而已”，并非“义务”。

'Many people here work in the countryside, so it's very usual to take a long lunch break and have a siesta after eating,' according to a Town Hall spokesman.

市政厅一位发言人表示，“这里很多人都在乡下工作，因此午饭后的午休时间长点也是很常见的。”

Researchers say that an hour long power nap in the afternoon could repair the damage caused by a lack of sleep. Having a 30-minute snooze can help relieve stress and bolster the immune systems by restoring hormones and proteins to normal levels.

研究人员认为，午休一个小时可以修复睡眠不足造成的损伤。午休30分钟有助于缓解压力，使激素和蛋白质恢复到正常水平，从而增强免疫力。

While siestas are common in southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, many northern European nations say the culture of sleeping while the rest of Europe is hard at work puts these nations at a competitive disadvantage and has had a negative impact on their economies.

午休在西班牙、意大利、希腊等南欧国家很常见，但是很多北欧国家认为，当欧洲其他国家人们在努力工作的时候，他们却在午休，这会使得本国处于竞争劣势，给本国经济带来负面影响。

Vocabulary

edict: 法令

siesta: 午睡，午休

catch up on: 补(觉)

snooze: 午睡，打盹

insomnia: 失眠

mitigate: 缓解