The Gospel of the Persianas
An ode to Spain’s sleep-friendly window infrastructure
In this season of record-breaking heat—low 70s at night, mid-90s by day—good sleep is tough to come by, but not with persianas.
Every sleep-deprived visitor who arrives in Spain hears me say the same thing: “Don’t worry, we’ll use the persianas to make your room dark.” Without fail, they look confused—until the next morning, when they wake up miraculously well-rested. Persianas offer more than hospitality; they offer a reprieve from excessive light year round, but their moment coincides with Spain’s most overrated season: summer.
Latitude isn’t the only reason for Spain’s stifling heat. Spain is offset from its natural time zone (it should be on London time, not Central European), which means sunlight lingers absurdly late into the evening. Now that I’m back in the office, trying to wake up for pre-work workouts, followed by a mad dash I’m calling “shower-metro-bus” in my calendar, I go to bed before the average Spanish child. This time of year, 10:30 PM twilight and 6:30 AM sunrise look the same and getting to sleep doesn’t come easily.
Enter persianas: the trusty roller shutters found on nearly every Spanish window, are nothing short of genius. A Spanish friend once said, “We’re not known for our infrastructure, but we got this one right.” To me they look inspired by Islamic window patterns and walls. They likely evolved from 18th-century European innovations in window shading, but Spain took the concept and perfected it. Made of lightweight aluminum or PVC slats, they offer some insulation and unparalleled blackout capability. The basic ones are raised and lowered with a side cord; more modern options offer remote control operation.
In this season of record-breaking heat—low 70s at night, mid-90s by day—good sleep is tough to come by, but not with persianas. Siesta at noon? Covered. Sofa-bed sleeping arrangements? Improved. So dark is my living room, thanks to persianas, I’ve had to tape over a single LED from the AC unit just to get to sleep. Yes you heard that right: we’ve been sleeping on the sofa bed for almost a month in this relentless heatwave. Quality sleep in Spain in the summer feels Quixotic; impractical, but ideal.
Side note: I refer to every temperature that correlates with my personal suffering and clothing choices in Fahrenheit—I have no desire to switch to Celsius, though I can do the conversion math when needed. Fahrenheit wins for most dramatic numbers: 100°F is triple digits—37,77°C is… hot I guess?
Spain in the summer sounds dreamy, but it truly sucks. The hottest part of the day is 2:00-8:00 PM and going anywhere feels like being roasted alive in a convection oven. Spaniards purport to love summer, but when Madrileños are asked about their vacation plans, they often involve escaping to family homes in the cooler northern locales, to wait out the oppressively hot conditions. I’d love summer too under these conditions.
This time of year, all I want is a Cascade Lake, a stand-up paddle board, and a six pack of something bubbly to help me regulate the insufferable heat, inside and out. I’m glad for limited access to AC, a fan, and an air-conditioned office that’s just right, with automatic shades that rise and fall with the daylight. It could be a lot worse.
For now, all I can do is try and get some damn rest. Many Spaniards complain about sleep deprivation, yet few people have AC in their homes, partly because of a widespread EU cultural belief that it’s “unhealthy” to sleep with AC. To which I say:
a.) show me the research
b.) I don’t prefer to sleep with AC either, but I do prefer to sleep
c.) so is smoking and that doesn’t stop people from lighting up everywhere
While I can’t control the temperatures, Spain gives us the ability to take the edge off the most intense heat.
If you have a summer trip booked for Spain, get ready to plunge yourself into darkness and cross your fingers your place has AC.
If you live somewhere cool and you really do love the heat, bless your heart—wanna do a housing swap in August? Or now?
If you live in Spain, remember: this, like all suffering, won’t last forever. If all else fails, try my trick to get back to sleep: keep a spray bottle next to your bed and mist your top sheet when you wake up. Turn your bed into a swamp cooler and count your blessings: the heat may be miserable, but you can shut out the bulk of the sun’s intensity with persianas.
If you liked this, you might also like this piece (it seems a lack of AC isn’t just a Spain problem):
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Have you experienced the magic of persianas? Got a sleep mask that gets you through the summer? Leave a comment!
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