Can’t sleep… How to improve the quality of sleep? Global experts “Go to bed 30 minutes early” “The most important thing is the amount of sleep”: Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web
The rainy season has continued, and the nights that are difficult to sleep due to the humidity and heat have increased. Under such circumstances, some people are reviewing their sleep. Japanese people are said to sleep less than other countries, so products that promote restful sleep are gaining popularity. What is the “recommendation for good sleep” in modern society? (Middle mountain)
Sudden insomnia, decreased income…
“Suddenly one day, I couldn’t sleep. Yuki Ishikawa, a freelance writer in Yokohama City, talks about his experience of insomnia in the spring of 2020. At that time, the epidemic of the new coronavirus began, and in April, the first state of emergency was declared in seven prefectures, including Tokyo and Kanagawa. As the days of refraining from going out continued, I couldn’t sleep even when I went to bed at night.
I tried to do something about it by changing my lifestyle. Take a walk in the middle of the day and read a book before going to bed without looking at your smartphone. I also tried a bath additive that relaxes me with a pleasant scent.
Still, sleepless days continued.during the day
Yuki Ishikawa, a freelance writer who focuses on sleep and uses an app linked to a ring-shaped device to check changes in heart rate and other factors, is seen in Tokyo.
Consult a sleep outpatient at a medical institution. He was prescribed sleeping pills, but he said, “I didn’t take them because I thought I would become addicted to them.” Instead, I became obsessed with bedding. He has tried multiple pillows, including custom-made and breathable ones. He changed his pajamas and bought a new mattress for his bed. He continued trial and error for three or four months, slowly getting to sleep. The cause of his insomnia may have been anxiety about the corona disaster, but I still don’t know.
◆ “Life is a little sleepy in the daytime” is different
These experiences made him think seriously about sleep. “Before I couldn’t sleep, I would get pimples on my face and get headaches when my sleep was short because I was busy with work. Even so, I used to think, ‘Life is just a little sleepy during the day.’ Now I need it.” I try to be conscious of my sleep time.”
Make sure you sleep at least 8 hours a day. A ring-shaped device and a smartphone app linked to it measure changes in heart rate and body temperature every day to check whether you are sleeping well. Until now, she has spent several hundred thousand yen on replacement bedding and other items, but she says with a laugh, “I no longer regret spending on good sleep.”
While there are people like Ishikawa who are concerned about sleep, the number of products that are said to improve the quality of sleep is increasing.
“TENTIAL” (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo) sells functional pajamas “BAKUNE” that are highly effective in promoting blood circulation with special fibers. It has become popular among working people, mainly in their 40s and 50s, and has sold a total of 200,000 copies since February 2021.
Popular functional pajamas “BAKUNE” (provided by TENTIAL)
This pajama is expected to have a good sleep effect in a demonstration experiment by the Waseda University Sleep Research Institute. President Yutaro Nakanishi said, “Recently, business people are becoming more aware of getting enough sleep.”
Nakanishi wanted to be a professional soccer player until high school, but gave up after being diagnosed with a heart condition. From his own experience, he realized the importance of managing his physical condition. The company’s products are said to be developed with the input of professional tennis and basketball players. He says, “If you support everyday activities like sleeping, you can build a healthy lifestyle.
◆ Japanese lack sleep
Similar to the devices and apps that Ishikawa uses, “Sleep Tech,” a technology that measures and analyzes sleep using sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) and encourages improvement, has been spreading in recent years. According to the market research firm Seed Planning (Bunkyo Ward), the market size of devices and apps that use Sleep Tech will reach 460 billion yen in 2021. Total sleep-related sales, including bedding, amounted to 1.62 trillion yen.
The reason these markets are booming is because many Japanese people are sleep-deprived.
Sufficient sleep time varies from person to person, but the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare recommends 6 to 9 hours a day (6 to 8 hours for those aged 60 and over). According to a ministry survey conducted in 2019, 38% of men and 40% of women out of approximately 5,700 people aged 20 and over slept less than six hours a day on average. The ministry has set a goal of increasing the percentage of people who are getting enough sleep to 60% in its “Healthy Japan 21 (Third)” national health promotion plan to start in fiscal 2024.
◆ If you sleep for a short period of time, metabolic syndrome and mental disorders
Why do people sleep in the first place?
Professor Masafumi Yanagisawa (basic biology), director of the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine at the University of Tsukuba, said, “Although it can be said that all living things need sleep, the reason for this is still unknown. This is a big question in sleep science. What is it?” he says. On the other hand, the efficacy of sleep has been clarified, saying, “It has been found that memories such as learning are organized, and that it leads to the establishment of skills such as sports and playing musical instruments.”
Also, if you continue to sleep for about 4 to 6 hours a day, brain performance declines in many people. In the long term, it is said that people are more likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome, mental disorders, and infectious diseases.
Even from an international perspective, Japanese sleep less. According to a 2009 survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average sleep time of Japanese people (7 hours and 22 minutes) was the lowest among 33 countries.
◆ “Sorry to sleep” is nonsense
Professor Masafumi Yanagisawa, Director of the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, talking about the benefits of sleep
Yanagisawa also pointed to the results of another international study on the relationship between average sleep hours and gross domestic product (GDP). There are still people who think, ‘I’ll spare no time to work,’ but that’s nonsense.” “The most important thing is the amount of sleep. No matter how many ways you try to improve the quality of your sleep, if you don’t have enough time in the first place, you won’t be able to expect results. ” says.
Medical Journalist Ichikawa
In 2015, the suicide of 24-year-old Matsuri Takahashi, a new employee at advertising giant Dentsu, led to a review of the long working hours. Ichikawa believes that along with recent work style reforms, there is also a growing movement to review sleep. “We have shifted from thinking that it is a virtue to work without sleep to working during the day with good rest.”
Even so, there are still many people, especially those in their prime, who are not getting enough sleep, and the reform is only halfway through. What should I do.
According to Mr. Ichikawa, the key will be the popularization of the “work interval,” which ensures a certain amount of rest time after the end of work until the next work starts. “It will have a big effect if it spreads among workers who work in shifts, such as nurses, medical personnel, and factory workers,” he said. However, if it is introduced without reviewing the amount of work and labor management, there is a risk that work will not be done at the site. I would like companies to promote the introduction of such technology and focus their efforts on creating an environment that reduces the number of people who are sleep deprived.”
◆ Desk memo
Shohei Ohtani’s recent success seems to be raising interest in sleep. Reportedly, he sleeps more than 10 hours a day. It’s interesting, but the environment for many people is different from that of two-way athletes who overwork their bodies. Based on my own experience, sleep time decreases with age. Ideally, personalized sleep guidance is close at hand. (North)
