In some japanese coffee shops standing nap pods are beginning to be installed. You pay the equivalent of 5 euros and you can pass 20 minutes sleeping inside a cubicle, just long enough for the coffee to start working. One would think that this is a very bad idea and that the marketing managers of the company that installs them should be fired. But, although in the rest of the world they would not make sense, in Japan they are more than necessary.
This is because these capsules make it easier to inemuri, a Japanese habit consisting precisely of that. In taking small naps sitting or standing on the subway, in the cafeteria or even in a work meeting or a school class. It is not frowned upon, quite the contrary, since it means that you did not get enough sleep the night before because of a strenuous work day.
The Japanese value work very much. For them, sleeping is a waste of time, so they rest just enough to stay alive. It is estimated that they sleep an average of 7.22 hours a dayalthough many barely exceed 6. This is the lowest of the measurements taken in countries of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), where the mean is 8 hours and 24 minutes. But interestingly, Japan is also often ranked among the countries with the highest life expectancy. How do they manage to reach this balance, taking into account how necessary a good rest is for health?
Standing naps as a desperate solution
There is often much talk about the melatonin as a substance that causes our sleep. It is true that this hormone, which is released in dark conditions, helps us sleep, but it is not the only substance that has this function. There are also others, such as a neurotransmitter, called adenosinewhich cause the famous feeling drowsy that we feel both at night, before going to sleep, and in the morning, if we have not rested properly.
Precisely, adenosine is responsible for caffeine keeping us awake, since they compete for the same receptors. If coffee joins them, it prevents adenosine from performing its function and we will be less sleepy.
This is the artificial way to combat adenosine. The natural one is simply to sleep. This neurotransmitter it degrades as we sleep. Therefore, if we do not sleep enough, the next day we will be very sleepy
That’s what happens to the Japanese. The less they sleep, the more drowsy they drag, so they need to resort to those naps standing or sitting in everyday situations.
In fact, Inemuri means “to be present while sleeping”, because its function is exactly that. Rest a bit, but without falling into the REM phaseof much deeper sleep, in which the consciousness of a good part of what surrounds us is lost.
better accompanied
Something curious about inemuri is that the Japanese they seem to relax taking naps with strangers around them. In fact, during the 2011 tsunamithere were many who, upon being evacuated and sleeping in crowded pavilions, assured that this helped them to rest better.
This is something that is seen in this country even in babies and young children. Although in the West there is some division of opinion on the co-sleeping needin Japan the consensus is to recommend it, since it teaches children not to need absolute solitude to fall asleep.
What are the capsules used for? inemuri?
Japan’s Inemuri capsules, located in the Nescafe coffee shopsare thoughtfully designed by the Giraffenap company. The name is not a coincidence, because giraffes are one of those animals that sleep standing up.
But with these capsules they sleep somewhat more comfortably than giraffes. They are placed knee, chest, foot and buttock pads, so that an upright position can be maintained, but rested. Then, once the coffee kicks in, the Japanese would be ready to continue their strenuous day.
Isn’t it bad to sleep so little?
Little sleep is dangerous on many levels. Cardiovascular health, the immune system, metabolism are affected, and mood worsens.
In fact, Japan has its own term to refer to dying from working too much: karoshi.
An excess of work, together with an extreme lack of sleep, surely they are affecting the health of the Japanese. The point is that they make up for it with a good health system, a very healthy diet and leisure routines that do not usually include harmful habits.
All of this, coupled with genetics, even makes up for his lack of sleep. But in the West we are not that lucky. That’s why we would never take a nap standing up here. Not only because they consider it sacrilege, but also because it would possibly be a sign that we slept very little the night before. And that, to us, is clearly not convenient for us.