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Her being Japanese and being used to sleeping essentially on the floor certainly helped. Pretty sure the result would have been different for us westerners bein

by ascar 5y ago

Her being Japanese and being used to sleeping essentially on the floor certainly helped. Pretty sure the result would have been different for us westerners being used to sleep in soft beds. Couldn't help but laugh out loud when seeing the pictures. Especially since I thought at first it's about the cat lying on different spots on the bed, which can restrict your movement.

bitwize 5y ago
Japanese people don't typically sleep on the floor, though they may sleep on mattresses placed on the floor (rather than suspended by a bedframe and box spring).
- mobiledev2014 5y ago
  The poster you’re responding to said “essentially” on the floor. Having stayed at a traditional ryokan I’d say that’s an accurate description. It’s a very comfortable floor! But very different from western beds.
- grapeskin 5y ago
  Sleeping on a futon (thick blanket, not a mattress) on the floor is pretty typical. Apparently bed vs floor is about half and half (blue is floor and red is mattress in this chart). [1] [1] https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807 https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807
- solarmist 5y ago
  I assume parent was talking about futons on tatami which don’t compare well with mattresses, more like cushions on a soft floor.
  - suction 5y ago
    Which the majority of Japanese people don't sleep on. They sleep in beds.
    - rwmj 5y ago
      Maybe in Tokyo, but not out in the countryside in my experience.
      - cthalupa 5y ago
        Of Japan's population of roughly 127 million, about 118 million of them live in urban/suburban areas. Hosei University, where this researcher is from, is in Tokyo. So in absolute terms the statement that "The majority of Japanese people sleep in beds" is certainly correct. In context of the article, where it is being claimed that sleeping on a futon on top of a tatami mat is preparation for sleeping on the floor (and really, it isn't, but we'll ignore that), it is also valid. The majority of the Japanese populace in Japan sleeps on beds, and this researcher likely does as well. From anecdotal experience, most modern homes I have been in in Japan have only one, if any, tatami rooms. They are not used as bedrooms, except perhaps in the 'family having a sleepover in the tatami room' sort of fashion. Modern apartments seem to have none.
    - solarmist 5y ago
      Yup, I know, but it's far from uncommon though. By population, beds win, but by the area covered I'll bet futons still win (everywhere outside of major cities).
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
thaumasiotes 5y ago
> Pretty sure the result would have been different for us westerners being used to sleep in soft beds. A couple of nights on a hard surface will get your body used to it. (Or at least, it did for me, when I rented an apartment where the previous occupant had outfitted the bed with a board to make it harder. I hurt all over after the first night. But I got used to it.)
- binkHN 5y ago
  In my case, when I moved into a new apartment and was waiting on new furniture, I never got used to it. Yes, the first few nights were the most challenging, but the challenge never abated. Over a couple of months I tossed and turned way too often as a result of too much pressure in one spot or another and I started to develop rather consistent back pain almost daily as a result of this arrangement.
- gumby 5y ago
  I spent so many nights sleeping on the floor of my office in the lab that I just got used to it. Then I became a backpacker and it was like I had a superpower.
KennyBlanken 5y ago
There's also the fact that she used a fitbit for sleep quality measurement. That's why her results are inconclusive. The vast majority of "activity" trackers don't measure sleep worth a damn. My Garmin couldn't even tell when I'd gone to bed or woken up, much less how well I slept.
- katbyte 5y ago
  I find Apple Watch + auto sleep to be very accurate and automatic.
- fruit2020 5y ago
  The forerunner 245 measures that very well.
- aitchnyu 5y ago
  Is there a benchmark on how accurate fitness trackers are with sleep? I didn't get over the fact that my Fitbit I got a year back isnt as good as the 4x cheaper Honor band it replaced. It tracks lying consciously after sleep as sleep.
suction 5y ago
Are you a time traveler from the 1940s? You'd be shocked to find out that the norm for modern Japanese people is to sleep in beds, sit on chairs, wear Western clothing, are able to use knives and forks, and watch "Bachelor"-type reality TV shows. I'd wager that Japanese people still sleeping on the floor (which in itself is a falsehood, a futon is basically a thin mattress) are a very small minority. Most Japanese people I know go to Ryokan's as a fun way to feel "like people from ages ago", but the next day at breakfast they all complain how much their bodies hurt from not sleeping in their beds.
- ascar 5y ago
  Well, I have lived for 6 months in the Kansai region and also had a very nice guest family that I met at least every second weekend, also multiple times in their house. They certainly didn't have beds and the futon they used definitely would not have counted as a proper mattress for me. Maybe you draw your conclusions based on observations in Tokyo (westernization is on another level there after all, which is why I personally didn't enjoy Tokyo so much), but as another commenter linked about 50% of Japan still sleeps on futons (2014) and it was even 75% in 1990. Also, you could avoid the condescending tone. Especially since your argument is wrong. Adding that time traveling accusation and other examples of common westernization was unnecessary to make your point.
  - suction 5y ago
    6 months, so you're basically a tourist, and have one piece of anecdotal evidence. Yet you wrote as if you have deep experience of modern Japanese culture - any sort of condescension was warranted.
    - ascar 5y ago
      Man your attitude is really unwarranted. Not the kind of comments and discourse one likes to have here. I provided anecdotal evidence (which I added because the tone of your comment provoked me to give evidence that I actually do have some relevant experience and certainly didn't time travel to 1940) and statistics that your claim "a very small minority" is wrong. Here is the link from a sister comment providing the data I spoke about: https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807 https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807

by ascar 5y ago

bitwize 5y ago

Japanese people don't typically sleep on the floor, though they may sleep on mattresses placed on the floor (rather than suspended by a bedframe and box spring).

mobiledev2014 5y ago
The poster you’re responding to said “essentially” on the floor. Having stayed at a traditional ryokan I’d say that’s an accurate description. It’s a very comfortable floor! But very different from western beds.
grapeskin 5y ago
Sleeping on a futon (thick blanket, not a mattress) on the floor is pretty typical. Apparently bed vs floor is about half and half (blue is floor and red is mattress in this chart). [1] [1] https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807 https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807
solarmist 5y ago
I assume parent was talking about futons on tatami which don’t compare well with mattresses, more like cushions on a soft floor.
- suction 5y ago
  Which the majority of Japanese people don't sleep on. They sleep in beds.
  - rwmj 5y ago
    Maybe in Tokyo, but not out in the countryside in my experience.
    - cthalupa 5y ago
      Of Japan's population of roughly 127 million, about 118 million of them live in urban/suburban areas. Hosei University, where this researcher is from, is in Tokyo. So in absolute terms the statement that "The majority of Japanese people sleep in beds" is certainly correct. In context of the article, where it is being claimed that sleeping on a futon on top of a tatami mat is preparation for sleeping on the floor (and really, it isn't, but we'll ignore that), it is also valid. The majority of the Japanese populace in Japan sleeps on beds, and this researcher likely does as well. From anecdotal experience, most modern homes I have been in in Japan have only one, if any, tatami rooms. They are not used as bedrooms, except perhaps in the 'family having a sleepover in the tatami room' sort of fashion. Modern apartments seem to have none.
  - solarmist 5y ago
    Yup, I know, but it's far from uncommon though. By population, beds win, but by the area covered I'll bet futons still win (everywhere outside of major cities).

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

thaumasiotes 5y ago

> Pretty sure the result would have been different for us westerners being used to sleep in soft beds. A couple of nights on a hard surface will get your body used to it. (Or at least, it did for me, when I rented an apartment where the previous occupant had outfitted the bed with a board to make it harder. I hurt all over after the first night. But I got used to it.)

binkHN 5y ago
In my case, when I moved into a new apartment and was waiting on new furniture, I never got used to it. Yes, the first few nights were the most challenging, but the challenge never abated. Over a couple of months I tossed and turned way too often as a result of too much pressure in one spot or another and I started to develop rather consistent back pain almost daily as a result of this arrangement.
gumby 5y ago
I spent so many nights sleeping on the floor of my office in the lab that I just got used to it. Then I became a backpacker and it was like I had a superpower.

KennyBlanken 5y ago

There's also the fact that she used a fitbit for sleep quality measurement. That's why her results are inconclusive. The vast majority of "activity" trackers don't measure sleep worth a damn. My Garmin couldn't even tell when I'd gone to bed or woken up, much less how well I slept.

katbyte 5y ago
I find Apple Watch + auto sleep to be very accurate and automatic.
fruit2020 5y ago
The forerunner 245 measures that very well.
aitchnyu 5y ago
Is there a benchmark on how accurate fitness trackers are with sleep? I didn't get over the fact that my Fitbit I got a year back isnt as good as the 4x cheaper Honor band it replaced. It tracks lying consciously after sleep as sleep.

suction 5y ago

Are you a time traveler from the 1940s? You'd be shocked to find out that the norm for modern Japanese people is to sleep in beds, sit on chairs, wear Western clothing, are able to use knives and forks, and watch "Bachelor"-type reality TV shows. I'd wager that Japanese people still sleeping on the floor (which in itself is a falsehood, a futon is basically a thin mattress) are a very small minority. Most Japanese people I know go to Ryokan's as a fun way to feel "like people from ages ago", but the next day at breakfast they all complain how much their bodies hurt from not sleeping in their beds.

ascar 5y ago
Well, I have lived for 6 months in the Kansai region and also had a very nice guest family that I met at least every second weekend, also multiple times in their house. They certainly didn't have beds and the futon they used definitely would not have counted as a proper mattress for me. Maybe you draw your conclusions based on observations in Tokyo (westernization is on another level there after all, which is why I personally didn't enjoy Tokyo so much), but as another commenter linked about 50% of Japan still sleeps on futons (2014) and it was even 75% in 1990. Also, you could avoid the condescending tone. Especially since your argument is wrong. Adding that time traveling accusation and other examples of common westernization was unnecessary to make your point.
- suction 5y ago
  6 months, so you're basically a tourist, and have one piece of anecdotal evidence. Yet you wrote as if you have deep experience of modern Japanese culture - any sort of condescension was warranted.
  - ascar 5y ago
    Man your attitude is really unwarranted. Not the kind of comments and discourse one likes to have here. I provided anecdotal evidence (which I added because the tone of your comment provoked me to give evidence that I actually do have some relevant experience and certainly didn't time travel to 1940) and statistics that your claim "a very small minority" is wrong. Here is the link from a sister comment providing the data I spoke about: https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807 https://tg-uchi.jp/topics/3807