The 11th English Oratorical Contest for the University of Tokyo ESS Trophy

Because I am a sleep lover, I would like to share with you how to cope with serious sleep deprivation in Japan.

Since I moved to Tokyo last April, I have experienced many cases of culture shock. I faced one of them when I first took the Yamanote Line – passengers fell asleep on a train even though it was in broad daylight. Although I like to sleep and always try to sleep as much as I can, I have fallen asleep on a train before. After moving to Tokyo and starting my college life, I noticed that I didn’t have enough sleep. That was the very moment when I began to ponder why so many Japanese people lack sleep and question how we can cope with this serious problem. I believe my speech may inspire you to rethink your views on sleep.

Script

“Why do Japanese people sleep on trains?”  This is a question that I’ve had since I moved to Tokyo last April.  Since I am a sleep lover and used to sleep for seven hours a day, I was very surprised to see people sleeping on trains.  But wait, Japanese people sleep not only on trains but also literally everywhere – buses, subways, and even classrooms!  After living in Tokyo for a while, I came up with a very simple answer: they don’t sleep enough at home.

 

                Well then, I thought to myself, what about in my case?  As I started my college life, I have become so busy that it’s sometimes hard for me to sleep for as long as seven hours a day.  I have also begun to ponder if there was any way to make up for my lack of sleep.  Today, I am here to share with you how to solve serious sleep deprivation in Japan.  I hope everyone here will realize that sleeping is our best medicine to stay healthy.  Please do not sleep until the very end of my speech.

 

                First, let me share one research finding with you to show how serious the problem is.  In 2014, the OECD conducted a research on how much time people have spent on sleeping in 29 different countries.  In which place do you think Japan ranked?  Japan placed second to last among the surveyed 29 countries.  Now, you might be thinking, “Yeah, I don’t really sleep a lot but I’m still fine. What’s wrong with having little sleep?”  However, it has been scientifically proven by Harvard Medical School that a lack of sleep is associated with both physical and mental diseases; among them are obesity, heart disease, and mood disorders.  And the problem doesn’t end there.

 

                More seriously, sleep loss can lead to serious accidents.  Imagine you are a bus driver.  You are driving on a highway late at night.  Suddenly you get very sleepy and you are about to be overcome by the sleepiness.  What if you fall asleep in this situation?  The outcome would be tragic.  This is exactly what happened in Japan in 2012.  The bus driver was driving on the Kan-Etsu Expressway at 4.40 a.m. and the bus crashed into a wall.  38 passengers were severely injured, and seven of them died.  I cannot help but think, ‘If only the driver had slept enough…’  In short, sleep loss can also hurt people around you by causing unexpected accidents.

 

                Then, we have to ask ourselves - what is leading Japanese people to sleep less than those in other countries?  The answer lies in our everyday lives.  For university students sitting right there, what time do you go to bed after finishing your part-time job and preparing for the next day’s classes?  How many times have you stayed up all night writing a long paper?  As for office workers, don’t you feel you need more than 24 hours a day to finish your work while joining a drinking party which you don’t even want to go to?  I am sure that we all do understand the importance of sleep, but we just don’t have time, right?

 

                It would be the best if the whole Japanese society would work together to solve this problem, but it takes a tremendous time to transform the existing society into a better one where every one of us can have an enough amount of sleep.  Then, what can we do NOW at an individual level?

 

                My solution is to improve the quality of our sleep.  Some of you may doubt whether this solution is really effective enough to cope with problems caused by sleep loss.  However, according to Harvard Medical School and several other researches, our sleep quality and our health conditions are closely related, and most experts have concluded that getting high-quality sleep is as important to health as nutrition and exercise.  So today, let me introduce two simple tips that are proven to effectively improve our sleep quality.

 

                First, sleep in darkness.  The National Sleep Foundation reports that exposure to light stimulates hormones and prevents us from getting high-quality sleep.  It is also reported that leaving a light on while you are asleep can cause a lot of health problems that I have mentioned earlier.  Yes, I know we are sometimes so sleepy that we fall asleep instantly – before we knew it on some occasions – without turning the lights off.  But, please fight off your sleepiness for a few seconds and make sure you turn them off before you go to bed.

 

                Second, have a cup of water or hot drink just before you sleep.  According to Dr. Ryutaro Shirahama, whose professional field is sleep studies, a cup of normal-temperature water is very helpful for you to have a good sleep.  Hot drinks, such as hot milk, can also help you sleep well, but avoid caffeine before bedtime because caffeine does not only wake you up but it also disturbs your body clock.

 

                I am exactly the one who was saved by the tips.  This October, I couldn’t sleep enough because I had to prepare for a play next month.  I used to fall asleep with the lights on, and I was so stressed out that I had a headache all day long.  I wanted to sleep more, but I couldn’t because I had so much to do in my everyday life.  However, by following these two tips, I managed to relieve stress little by little.  And I noticed that it might be almost impossible for us to sleep longer, but it is always possible for us to sleep better.

 

                I am so glad that you’re all awake.  Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time for us to sleep well and live a healthier life free from unexpected accidents.  As a sleep lover, I strongly believe that sleeping is our best medicine to stay healthy and to make the most of our lives.