Germany tinkering with the idea of siestas and cold footbaths amid sizzling temperatures

A public health group has recommended the introduction of siestas in Germany as temperatures soar in a sizzling summer heatwave.

Johannes Niessen, the head of the BVOeGD public health officers association, said Germans should follow the habits of people in the hotter climes of southern Europe.

“Get up early, work productively in the morning, and take a siesta at midday,” he said in an interview published by the RND media network on Tuesday.

The World Meteorological Organization warned a heatwave in the northern hemisphere was set to intensify, increasing the risk of deaths linked to excessively high temperatures.

While Germany has escaped the kind of temperatures that hit southern Europe this week, it has sweltered in the mid-30s Celsius, with Bavaria seeing the country’s record high so far at 38.8 degrees Celsius.

“People are not as efficient in strong heat as they are otherwise,” Niessen said. “Moreover bad sleep in the absence of cooling in the night leads to concentration problems.”

German health minister Karl Lauterbach said a siesta was “certainly no bad proposal” but employers and workers should negotiate this together.

On holiday in Italy, Lauterbach tweeted that high temperatures had stopped him going on a day trip to Rome.

“My daughter would rather stay in the pool while I will read. Next try tomorrow.”

The BDA employers association was open to the siesta proposal, saying that more flexible working hours could enable employees to take longer midday breaks if it suited both parties.

Niessen also called for “sufficient fans and lighter clothing, even if the attire rules for an office don’t allow it.”

“A cold footbath under the desk would be another option to stay cool while working from home,” he said.