Does Japan get enough sleep?

Scientists confirm that sleep deprivation has a detrimental impact on physical and mental health

“On the days when I could get home at a reasonable time I knew I had to get to bed quickly, but my pulse was still racing,” Shimizu says.

He would often be expected to cover for part-time staff who called in sick.

“My phone became an object of fear, to the extent that I could never get any meaningful sleep,” he says. “I just expected it to ring and be called in to work.”

Not only was sleep quantity in short supply but so, too, sleep quality. He rapidly lost weight and suffered a variety of ailments. He tried discussing his situation with his two superiors, only to learn that they had been hospitalized due to similar circumstances, Shimizu says.

Seven months later during a company health check, he was ordered to stop working immediately and seek specialist help.