Sleep. Try it. It's good for you.

When I first got to Japan, I thought, "Wow, they sleep everywhere!" but the more I thought about it, the more I realize that us Americans don't sleep enough. Maybe it's because of our long history of industry and agriculture that Americans have come to equate sleeping during the daytime with laziness.

I guess let me start by explaining the Japanese day. They wake up early and take the train to work. Many people walk from my area to the nearest train station, which is about a 2 mile walk. Some even shuffle run the entire distance in their business clothes for an added work out. Then they get on the train and head to their destination. Many Japanese doze on the train. Then they arrive at work and have a normal day until lunch. Eating lunch lasts about 15 minutes for them. They typically do not eat in the office but eat in their car or at a restaurant. Then, they spend the rest of their lunch break fast asleep in their cars or even dozing in the booth at the restaurant. After waking up from the mid-afternoon nap, they head into work until it's time to take a train home and nap on the entire ride back.

To an American, that is a lot of sleeping. Let's think about this some.....reasons we sleep in our car in the United States:

• We're ill.
• We're too drunk to drive and will sleep it off until morning.
• We're homeless.
• Nobody's asleep, it is actually a dead body.

Reasons we sleep in a restaurant in the United States.......there are none....we don't sleep in restaurants because people would think you're strange, possibly homeless, maybe drunk and you run the risk of being kicked out of the establishment. Somehow in the process of establishing the culture of the United States sleeping in public during the day has become something negative. When I went to college at the University of Washington, I had a three-hour break between classes. Not enough time to go home and too much time to study. Once, I tried to catch a nap in my car during those three hours. Not twenty minutes into my nap, I was awoken by a security guard rapping on my window telling me it was forbidden to sleep in my car in the parking garage. The reason? Well, see above...they didn't want drunks and homeless people seeking shelter in their cars in the parking garage.

It's strange because I'm not accustomed to seeing people sleep so soundly in public during the day. I always wonder if something is wrong with them, "Are they sick?" but then I remember they're just catching a little nap to make the afternoon at work more pleasant.

Most Japanese cars come equipped with curtains at the back and side windows. These can be pulled shut for quick car naps. You often see cars pulled to the side of the road with the shades drawn, especially during lunchtime.