Essay

Snoozing on the summer train

By Michael Pronko

As temperatures rise and air conditioning drops this summer, Tokyoites are starting to look sleepier and sleepier. When it's cool outside or the air conditioners are on full, people actively read or text or play video games. But once the heat and humidity reaches a critical point, everyone's brains turn to mush and the effort of focusing just becomes too much.

When that happens, people retreat into the only comfort they can find -- a nice nap! The best measure of the heat is not degrees or percentages but the number of people snoozing on the train. This summer is likely to reach all-time highs of train napping.

Summer in a Japanese city can be hard to bear. Everything seems harder in the heat. A little shut-eye allows you to conjure images of being stretched out on the tatami with a big fan and an ice-cold drink. Sometimes in summer, the entire length of a Tokyo train feels like nap time at a preschool! Everyone seems to have given in to the heat and decided to just click off the internal lights. Dozing is the body's way of saving electricity.

Unfortunately, I'm only an amateur at public napping. I envy people who can catnap instantly and easily. In the heat of summer, I rarely conk out on the train, though I always feel drowsy. For one thing, I sweat too much to sit down. Some days, about the best I can do is to get my earphones in my ears (even my ears sweat!) and watch for my train stop. But just watching everyone nodding off into a delicious slumber somehow calms me down and cools me off.

If the summer electricity shortage worsens, I wonder if entire trains will be filled with sleepers? That might not be a bad thing. The government should do some research into this problem and set thermostats for optimum train sleep levels. A new public announcement on the trains would help: "The train is leaving. Please feel free to doze! Nighty-night." That would definitely help those like me who resist sleep. At the least, the lights could be lowered.

To snooze or not to snooze, that is the question! My summer project this year will be learning to power nap. Sleep experts say 20 minutes of zzz's can make you more alert and rid your brain of useless built-up information. That sounds good to me. I like the idea that just dropping off on the train, in a chair or against any level surface can help relieve stress, increase efficiency and improve health. More important, though, snoozing might be the only way to beat the heat this summer.

Shukan ST: August 12, 2011

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