When in Japan, do as the Japanese do and one main thing is to sleep on tatami mats on a thin futon. For the winter, we've been doubling our futons to give us a little more cushion, but recently we went back to one and I slept horribly. The thing is, I couldn't find a position to comfortably sleep. Either my waist was elevated and I could feel the strain of gravity, or my spine was curved to get all parts of my body leveled. Also not comfy. I finally slept on my stomach and woke up achy all over.
As I wondered why all parts of me ached, I started to realize why and how the Japanese can sleep so soundly on such a hard floor. As I walked around Japan, I noticed that both the men and women have similar body types. Both genders are very slender without much curve. Most women, especially middle aged and older have small waist without a large chest or rear getting in their way. Because of this, I believe that their body naturally levels with the floor as they sleep on their side. Since I have both chest and rear, my balance is off and instead of a bed taking the extra weight into consideration, my spine must do the compensating.
Is this evolution?
Has the Japanese (or Western) figure changed because of sleeping habits?
And as I see younger women and teens in Japan with fuller, curvier figures, I am wondering is it is because of an increase in American beds. Now with bigger houses and smaller families, the Japanese family have the space to put beds into their home. Before there was no such space and futons had to be put away every morning to make room for the dinning and sitting area. So as I try to change the way I sleep every night to get the best sleeping position, I am awed by the purpose of different body shapes and what they do for people besides being able to fit into skinny jeans.
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I hope not to offend anyone of any body type. I just think differences RULE!
2 comments:
Another explanation is that if you grow up sleeping on harder surfaces you're just used to it... Americans are used to everything being cushy and fat, including themselves ~_~ and due to excess fat / lack of activity / poor eating habits / overly soft shoes and beds and chairs end up more like the humans in Wall-E.
If you'd like to start sleeping on harder surfaces you should do so slowly and progressively, start with a softer mattress/futon and progress to a harder one over time. Also, trigger point therapy and foam rolling can help to address the muscular imbalances and microtrauma that runs rampant in the Western world, whether you are in shape or not!
:)
Regardless of the reason, its is most certainly not "evolution. Evolution doesn't work like in pokemon.
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