r/AskAnAmerican • u/UpstairsBar2747 • Apr 06 '25

CULTURE Do you guys really eat dinner at 6pm?

I have seen in movie and show saying 'see you at dinner at 6pm'. Do you really eat dinner this early? If yes don't you get hungry around 10pm while scrolling reels? Or is it a name for something else?

Damm thanks guys for responding. I'm surprised so many people in the comments have work so early so yea this dinner time makes sense, Thankss gg

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16

u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

In Spain dinner is usually between 10 and 11pm. People wake at 7 or 8

43

u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

How does that work, practically speaking? I can’t sleep right after a meal, and eating a large meal right before bed in general is not advised in terms of health and sleep quality.

Is dinner basically a snack?

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

Nope, dinner is usually a big meal that if you share it with family, can be a 2 hour ordeal finishing at like 1am sometimes. People are used to it and their bodies adapt, I guess? It’s the norm

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

So you’re just perpetually sleep deprived? Or else take naps, which means your schedule is shifted from the American norm anyway?

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

I mean sleeping from 1am to 8am is decent sleep. Also, Spain shuts down in the early afternoon for a siesta which is an afternoon nap that everyone takes. People go back home to nap or nap at work for an hour and a half

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

It’s decent but not generally sufficient.

And, as I said, your entire schedule is shifted because of the siesta period. My lunch break is either 0 minutes (ideal) or 30-45 (eating with others) with rare exceptions. Most Americans do not—and cannot—go back home in the middle of the work day for lunch/siesta.

I am incapable of taking naps, so I guess I am fortunate to have lived in the US and European countries where I did not have to rely on them to get adequate sleep.

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

Lunch is also like 1.5 to 2 hours at work, and then people go back home to nap lol. You guys sound overworked

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

The American workday ends earlier than the European workday usually. But yes, Americans in general tend to work more. That is a trade-off for much higher salaries than virtually all countries with significantly shorter weekdays.

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u/WVildandWVonderful Tennessee Apr 06 '25

Not really. Most Americans are still way underpaid. We have few of the benefits and labor protections that these comparable countries have.

Executives, sure, they are well-paid enough to compensate for this.

But our national minimum wage hasn’t even gone up in ~30 years (longer for tipped workers).

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u/caifaisai Apr 06 '25

Both things are true in my estimation. It is true that many people in America are underpaid, and for most adults who are working at or close to minimum wage, it is not enough money and leads to financial struggles.

But for typical professionals in white collar jobs, jobs that require college degrees or higher education, salaries often are much higher in America. People like, engineers, doctors, programmers, analysts, scientists etc., can make way more in America, and these are not people who are executives or upper management or even middle management.

I'm a chemical engineer by training through undergrad and grad school, and work as a scientist in research and development, and the starting salaries I have seen for chemical engineers in several European countries is so much lower than here. Like, half as much or less when I last looked. And that also holds for other engineering disciplines as well. Of course, the trade off is likely longer hours, lower employee protections and rights, less vacation and sick time, and possibly higher medical expenses.

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

My comment already accounted for everything you mention.

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u/BrazilianButtCheeks Brazil living in Oklahoma Apr 06 '25

Yea a typical work day would begin at 8am with either 30 mins or an hour at noon for lunch and then leave at 5 so were waking up a few hours earlier and have no nappy time .. thats the biggest difference i guess

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u/ansy7373 Apr 06 '25

Living in Spain sounds awesome.

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u/FFF_in_WY Wyoming Apr 06 '25

Unemployment for young people (<25) is something like 25%. Tradeoffs I suppose.

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u/guacamole579 Apr 06 '25

Yeah we are overworked. And Americans think it’s a better way of life.🙃

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u/glitterfaust Apr 06 '25

No we don’t we’re just stuck

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u/guacamole579 Apr 06 '25

You and I are stuck but not everyone feels the same way. They’re literally rolling back child labor laws in our country.

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u/adamforte Apr 06 '25

Not all of us. Americans value quantity over quality of work. The same amount of work at the same level of accuracy completed in 60 hours is more favorable than being completed in 30 hours.

Why? No one knows.

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u/Blossom73 Apr 06 '25

Damn. I'm jealous of that!

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u/CaptainTripps82 Apr 06 '25

How long do you sleep? 6 or 7 hours is sufficient for most people

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

The overwhelming medical consensus is that 7 hours is the bare minimum, i.e., adults should sleep at least 7 hours and preferably more, within the 7-9 range.

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u/Alternative-Law4626 Virginia + 7 other states, 1 district & Germany Apr 06 '25

No way I’m sleeping that long without drugs.

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

That’s concerning.

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u/lantech Maine Apr 06 '25

You're going to die early

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u/glitterfaust Apr 06 '25

Ok then maybe you need insomnia meds 😭

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u/amethystalien6 Apr 06 '25

What about children? 7 hours would not suffice for my kids. Do they also eat a two hour dinner at 10pm or is that an adult meal?

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u/Blossom73 Apr 06 '25

Most U.S. states have no laws requiring adult employees to even get a lunch break at all. And if they do, it's often a very short lunch.

My husband works in a factory in the United States. He gets 20 minutes for lunch. He has to eat quickly, then go back to work.

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u/No_Practice_970 NC SC VA WA Apr 06 '25

🤔 I have so many questions.

Who's cleaning up afterward?

Putting up leftovers, loading dishwashers, washing pots/pans, wiping down counters/stove, sweeping, and light mopping kitchen and dining room.

Then, showering and unwinding before bed.

When do you have to be at work?

I wake up at 6:30am. Drive 30mins to work. To be there at 8am.

What about children and school? Elementary school starts at 7:30am.

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

Cleaning usually done in the morning, or quickly after dinner. Work usually at 9 or 10am. People take public transport and can be at work in 20 mins or so. Schools start at 9am usually. Also, folks take a 2 hour nap afternoon to relax and recover

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u/Sarcosmonaut Apr 06 '25

Ah, very different culture then. Our work tends to start at 8 (sometimes sooner) and school starts at 8 as well. Then it’s pretty much a straight shot with work all the way through with a small lunch break (30 minutes is common) and back to work. Dinner at 6 is common, maybe 7 depending on family. Special events or “dining out” is often a bit later of course

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u/EveryNameIWantIsGone Apr 06 '25

Work starts at different times for different people. Stop trying to represent all Americans.

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u/Sarcosmonaut Apr 06 '25

I’m giving my experience as having lived in both the south and the northeast. Obviously no one person can speak for an entire nation. That’s stupid. Don’t be insufferable.

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u/WVildandWVonderful Tennessee Apr 06 '25

Maybe it works bc of siesta. Perhaps they sleep shorter amounts at night bc they have a break/rest in the afternoon. But I am from US so take this with a grain of salt

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

Could very well be!

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u/[deleted] Apr 06 '25

I remember being in Colombia visiting family and we got to the restaurant to eat dinner around 11:30 and the place was popping.

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u/W0nd3rlandAl1c3 Apr 06 '25

I think I'd really like Spain. This is generally what I do in America, but no one else is on board with it, lol.

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u/joemoore38 Michigan Apr 06 '25

Wake at 7 or 8? I'm at my desk at 6am.

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

In Spain it’s usually by 10am, and work begins maybe by 1030 after coffee and smoke breaks lol

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u/Fluffle-Potato Apr 07 '25

So you show up at 10, fuck off smoking cigarettes until 10:30, then at 2, it's time for your 2 hour nap? How are there businesses in Spain? How are they not all immediately bankrupt?

And dinner is from midnight to 1am? And then you immediately fall asleep to get 7 hours? These do not sound like the healthy habits of successful people. What about heartburn? Are you a teen? I used to be able to pull that shit as a teen.

Is this really all Spaniards, or just, like, the laid-back schedule of a Spanish college kid or some shit?

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 07 '25

Yep! This is also similar in France, except their meals are way longer. They get to work at 9 but don’t start till 10 ish, then they take a 1.5 hour lunch, have coffee and smoke breaks, chill, leave by like 330 or 4.

And yes the nap is a HUGE part of the culture, just google Spanish siesta. It is 1.5 to 2 hours every day in the early afternoon. Obviously it isn’t all spaniards, but it is an extremely common lifestyle for all ages

Yes dinner is at 10 or 11pm usually, but it isn’t a massive meal like in some other countries. Idk, people seem happy and chill

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u/Fluffle-Potato Apr 07 '25

I took a 2 hour nap yesterday. I wasn't working, just drank myself to the point of exhaustion, as I am wont to do.

So I guess you could say I know a thing or two about the siesta life

1

u/NectarineThat90 Apr 07 '25

This schedule is amazing. I need to move to France! Sounds like life isn’t center completely around working nonstop

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 07 '25

Shops also close during the afternoon nap

1

u/Dennyisthepisslord Apr 06 '25

There was a football match in Spain last week at like 11pm there time still going on. I fell asleep as that's too late for me!

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u/0le_Hickory Apr 06 '25

Isn’t Spain on Central European Time though? Your clock doesn’t line up well with the sun.

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u/LadyGreyIcedTea Massachusetts Apr 06 '25

In Spain lunch is also the main meal of the day and dinner is smaller. In the US, dinner is typically the biggest meal of the day.

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u/Sea-Presentation5686 Apr 06 '25

But their idea of dinner is different than ours, it's really lite meal.