Cultural Perspectives Awareness Post

In our last intercultural communication class, we explored how different societies view sleep and rest, and I was honestly shocked by the Japanese approach. Coming from Bulgaria, where overworking is not as common and we usually value a balanced lifestyle, I found Japan’s sleeping culture both extreme and unsustainable.

The documentary we watched showed people sleeping only 4–5 hours per night, some even staying in cheap hotels just to avoid commuting home. That level of dedication to work might be seen as admirable, but to me, it feels unhealthy. I’ve personally witnessed this too—people sleeping on trains, looking completely exhausted.

While I’ve always found the Spanish and Greek siestas a bit too long, at least they promote rest. In Japan, it’s the opposite. The culture of inemuri (napping in public) is accepted, but it's a result of serious sleep deprivation due to academic and work pressure. It was eye-opening to see how cultural values like discipline and endurance can shape such extreme behavior.

Understanding this cultural perspective made me more aware of how deeply environment and social expectations influence our daily habits, even something as basic as sleep.

Comments

  1. MaximilianoMay 12, 2025 at 11:19 PM

    I totally understand you Boris because even if i’m Mexican and people take siestas too often, the reality is that i can’t sleep during the day, never in my life, i lack that ability. And yeah, you’re right, even if Japanense culture works really well as a focused society, it looks unhealthy and that promotes stress.

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