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Good morning! Are you playing the sleep game app that makes you look forward to waking up in the morning, “Pokémon Sleep”? I have been playing it without fail for about two years now. This is one of the things I have been working on consistently. Even if you don't play Pokémon Sleep, I assume you all sleep every day. Today, I would like to talk about sleep.

The supervisor of this Pokémon Sleep app, Masashi Yanagisawa, is a leading researcher in sleep science and a world-renowned expert on sleep. By reading Mr. Yanagisawa's book, I thought deeply once again about how important daily sleep is. This time, I will be introducing the book titled “The Super Basics of Sleep You Should Know by Now”.

Reading this book, the first thing that surprised me was the mystery of sleep. Even though we spend about one-third of our lives sleeping, it seems it has not yet been fully explained why sleep is necessary. However, it is understood that it is very important for the recovery of the brain and body. For example, while we sleep, the brain seems to be doing a “deep cleaning.” It clears away unnecessary things from the information obtained during the day, organizes important information, and stores it in memory. There are two types of sleep: deep non-REM sleep and light REM sleep, where we are more likely to dream. These repeat about every 90 minutes, and it is truly mysterious that the brain's activity level during REM sleep is almost the same as when we are awake.

And what shocked me was the terrible negative effects of sleep deprivation. It is not just about being sleepy; it leads to a lack of concentration, poor memory, inability to make correct decisions, and negative effects on overall brain function. Surprisingly, if you stay awake for 24 hours, your judgment ability drops to the same level as when you have consumed twice the legal limit of alcohol for drunk driving. Chronic sleep deprivation is written to increase the risk of depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, and even cancer. The balance of hormones that regulate appetite is also disrupted, which increases the risk of obesity. Also, sleep disorders such as insomnia, where you cannot sleep, and sleep apnea syndrome, where breathing stops while sleeping, are also introduced. Since these have a serious impact on physical health, it is very important to notice and deal with them early.

This book also writes about the sleep of animals. Dolphins and whales are said to engage in “unihemispheric sleep,” where they sleep with one half of their brain at a time. In order to breathe underwater and protect themselves from enemies, one side of the brain is always awake. The “microsleep” that allows migratory birds to sleep in the air was also surprising. Compared to other animals, humans have the unique characteristic of sleeping for a long time all at once. This is related to advanced brain functions that lead to complex memory organization and creative thinking. And it is also said that a feature of humans is that the proportion of REM sleep where we dream is high. The brain when dreaming is as active as when awake, and I felt that this might be connected to our imagination and problem-solving abilities.

So, how can we get high-quality sleep? This book is full of concrete methods that you can try immediately, and it is very helpful. The most important thing is to remove the causes that lower sleep quality. First, a regular rhythm of waking up at the same time every day and going to bed at the same time is the foundation. Opening the curtains and bathing in sunlight when you wake up in the morning resets your internal clock and leads to high-quality sleep. The bedroom environment is also important; the ideal temperature is 18–23 degrees Celsius, and the humidity should be 50–60%. And the bedroom should be a “place only for sleeping.” It is good to avoid blue light from smartphones 2–3 hours before bed and create time to relax with a warm bath or light stretching.

I knew it before reading, but I am now convinced that sleep is not just a break, but an important “investment” to greatly improve the quality of life. Good sleep enhances memory and learning ability, helps new ideas emerge, and improves problem-solving skills. It is surprising that it even improves emotional control and leads to better human relationships. Sleep is an important time that accounts for about one-third of life. I felt that by making the most of this time, the rest of life should also become richer. That is why I want to tell people around me, “Go to bed early!” Realizing the importance of sleep feels like finding the key to a hidden treasure chest in life. If I am not busy with work, I go to bed at 10 PM. When I used to go to bed late in the past, I would get sleepy during meetings and thought I had a sleep disorder, but now I am not sleepy at all even during meetings, so it seems it was just sleep deprivation. Anyway, let me know if anyone is playing Pokémon Sleep.