The health ministry tells Japanese people to go to bed

This is me on Saturday afternoons for about an hour, photo Dilan Lee

In a recent discussion in a social media forum where Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and English language educators hang out, a member asked about students sleeping in lessons. I had to wrack my brains. Did any of my charges fall asleep in class? Not once did I have to wake a student. My colleagues and I keep the students engaged as much as possible. However, we know they need help with time management, playing games at all hours or cramming late at night. We’re also very clear with them that, if they’re feeling under the weather, not having a good day, or simply exhausted, they can visit the teacher’s room to talk to a teacher or the school nurse.

Growing children and their need for rest

Kids with growing bodies and brains need a lot of rest, but according to research from the University of Tokyo, kids are not getting enough. Ideally, elementary school students should get 9-12 hours of sleep, and high school students 8-10. But my kids are up late messaging, playing online games, and rising very early to make the homeroom assembly at 8 a.m. A lot of homeroom teachers’ counseling time is taken up by advice on managing study and sleep schedules. Every weekday morning at the school gate, I trail a half dozen sleepy junior high school kids on their way to the homeroom meeting encouraging them to hang in there until their energy kicks in about 10 a.m.

Adults need more sleep than they’re getting

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has been telling people to go to bed for a decade. MHLW updated its guidelines for the first time in 10 years, advising the average adult Japanese person to get more than six hours. The article also reveals that according to an OECD report, Japanese people sleep an hour less than the average of the surveyed countries at 7 hours and 22 minutes.

I think I’m doing it right

For the past few years, I’ve managed to sleep about 8 hours and 30 minutes most nights. My commute to work is under an hour each way and my working day is usually 8 hours, so I feel reasonably rested. I’m a big fan of my futon for restful sleep. When I’m at home on weekends or holidays, I usually nap without a timer in the afternoons and feel well-rested.

Are you meeting or exceeding the MHLW guideline on rest?