July 12, 2006
Japan keen on naps!
It seems as though japan is really implementing naps at school. Here is another story about power naps at a high school.
So take a nap, Japan
High school students draped over their desks in slumber might tick off the teacher. But at Meizen High School in Kurume, Japan, nodding off in class is required, The Washington Post reports. In fact, the teachers dim the lights, put on classical music and join their students for a 15-minute power nap after lunch.
It's not just a response to national sleep deprivation. Napping is part of a mental alertness craze that has reached even corporate Japan in the belief that it enhances productivity. At Toyota, power naps have become commonplace -- particularly because the company switches off the lights during lunchtime to save energy. Department stores sell "desk pillows." And in the past two years, nap salons have popped up in Japan's major cities -- $4.50 a nap. Sleep researchers recommend naps of no more than 30 minutes, lest slumber result in more grog. So, a salon in Tokyo offers customers coffee before nap time. Caffeine takes about 20 minutes to kick in, so the java acts as a natural wake-up call.
Was that Pittsburgh cop caught napping on the job just ahead of his time?
