The first time that I heard the English/American expression ‘power nap’ I was curious to know how it differed from the traditional Italian pennichella.
But let’s begin from the beginning shall we,  what exactly is a pennichella?

A little quiz for our readers: Who could that be sleeping in the box in this family photo? Please leave a comment.

Etimologia di Pennichella:

Pennichella is a Roman/Neapolitan word now widely used all over Italy to describe il riposino pomeridiano (the afternoon’s little rest). It comes from the Latin ‘pendiculare’ (to be suspended, to dangle to one side), and describes the dangling of one’s head when one falls asleep in a seated position, an event that seems to occur ever more frequently as I get older.

A.K.A. Pisolino

Pisolino, from the redundant word pisolo, a short and light sleep, is probably the most common term for a postprandial snooze. The etymology of this word is similar to that of pennichella, as it comes from the Latin ‘pesolare’ (to dangle from side to side). A common expression for taking a nap is schiacciare un pisolino (literally: to squash a nap, don’t ask me why!), e.g. ho sonno, vado a schiacciare un pisolino (I’m sleepy, I’m going to take a nap)

You can use either pennichella or pisolino, the choice is yours. My personal preference is, as you may have guessed, pennichella. This is partly because pisolino sounds to much like pisellino for my liking. Pisellino is the children’s word from willy, or little penis. I prefer to avoid confusion!

Pennichella vs Powernap

Growing up as I did in a northern European culture I know for a fact that the pennichella, or as we knew it back in the day, the (Spanish) siesta, was solid proof that those Mediterranean types were lazy good for nothings. Well really … sleeping during the day … how disgraceful!

I have since, I’m glad to announce, learned the error of my ways. I’ve taken the full conversion course, which involved making the enormous sacrifice of coming to live in Italy, letting go of my guilt, accepting my inherent ‘laziness’, and becoming a dedicated ‘pennichellerista’. N.B. I just invented that last word, but I’m sure an Italian would recognise it as meaning ‘someone who is devoted to their pennichella’.

So, what exactly is the difference between a power nap and a pennichella? Exactly this: a power nap is simply a pennichella that has been given a fancy industrious sounding name in order to alleviate the guilt of the workaholic. “I am NOT sleeping … I’m POWER-NAPPING!” Yeah … whatever …

Think about it …

But if you really struggle with the guilt of doing nothing when your conscience tells you that you should be doing something then rest assured that when you take a pennichella you are NOT doing nothing. And here’s where science comes to your rescue. Check out the following headlines:

La pennichella fa bene.
The pennichella is good for you.

Gli scienziati decantano i vantaggi del sonno pomeridiano per la memoria e la creatività
Scientists praise the advantages of an afternoon sleep for one’s memory and creativity

La conferma della scienza. Diventiamo più creativi e lavoriamo meglio
Science confirms: We become more creative and work better

La pennichella fa bene al cuore
The pennichella is good for the heart

However,  if trying to read through that lot brings on the familiar dangling head sensation let me assist you with a quick summary:

Le ultime ricerche delle migliori università anglosassoni ci dicono, infatti, che la pennichella aumenta del 40 per cento la nostra creatività e del 30 per cento le nostre prestazioni fisiche e intellettuali.
The latest research from the best Anglo-Saxon universities tell us, in fact, that the pennichella enhances our creativity by 40 percent and our physical and intellectual performance by 30 percent.

I guess that explains my almost superhuman abilities then … 😉

Other sleep related articles by us:
So Sleepy
Wakey Wakey
Ninna Nanna