{"id":18895,"date":"2024-12-09T12:53:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T03:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/?p=18895"},"modified":"2024-12-09T14:34:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T05:34:55","slug":"%e6%97%a5%e5%b8%b8%e3%81%ae%e6%8c%a8%e6%8b%b6%e3%81%8b%e3%82%89%e5%a4%89%e3%81%88%e3%81%a6%e3%81%bf%e3%82%88%e3%81%86%e3%80%80%e4%ba%ba%e9%96%93%e7%a7%91%e5%ad%a6%e5%ad%a6%e8%a1%93%e9%99%a2-11-2-2-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/news\/2024\/12\/09\/18895\/","title":{"rendered":"Series: Tackling Work-Life Balance (30) Getting Enough Sleep to Maintain a Healthy Work\u2013Life Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Series: Tackling Work-Life Balance (30)<\/h3>\n

Getting Enough Sleep <\/span>to Maintain <\/span>a <\/span>Healthy <\/span>Work<\/span><\/span>\u2013<\/span><\/span>Life Balance<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u3000Full-time Staff<\/span>
\n<\/span>Academic Affairs Division<\/span>
\n<\/span>Social and Educational Outreach Office<\/span>
\n<\/span>Yu Takagi<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"\"

\u25b2Taken when my son turned two (that’s me on the far right)<\/p><\/div>\n

Sleep is crucial for achieving a healthy<\/span> work<\/span>\u2013<\/span>life balance. Therefore, I would like to discuss what I have been doing to get enough quality sleep.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I cannot offer science-backed advice, but I hope that describing my trial and error process will give you something to contemplate<\/span> regarding the importance of getting good sleep.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I want to have it all. I want to perform well at work, but I also want to spend time with my family. I also want some alone time, which is especially important. When one has all these goals, the 24 hours in each day pass very quickly<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there is simply not enough time in the day for everything I want to do. My son was born 2 years ago, and I spent many nights putting him to sleep, falling asleep myself, and then waking up in the middle of the night just to have some alone time with a bag of chips and a drink. I tried to get up early in the morning before the rest of my family so that I could read, but I would end up falling asleep at my desk. This went on day after day. There was so much I wanted to do, and I found I was sleeping less over time. I simply was not getting enough quality sleep.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

\u25b2He can sleep anywhere and wakes up full of energy. I’m envious! Was I ever like this?<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0My stiff shoulders and sore back <\/span>pained<\/span> me, and I became easily fatigued<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>with no way to relax and feel better. I <\/span>became<\/span><\/span> irritated<\/span><\/span> and <\/span>began<\/span> taking it out on others. I knew what I needed to do<\/span><\/span>: <\/span><\/span>balance how I was spending my time and <\/span>return<\/span> to a normal life. It sounds easy, but it<\/span> is<\/span><\/span> hard <\/span>for someone like me to stop a habit<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>even if I know <\/span>that i<\/span>t is<\/span><\/span> bad. That left me in <\/span>a difficult situation<\/span>. One day<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>I was <\/span>commuting to work via train<\/span> and<\/span> feeling exhausted, when I suddenly realized<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span> “Wait a minute. Even if you <\/span>can’t<\/span> sleep as much as you used to, how about sleeping better? You’d feel less tired all the time.” This seemed like a great idea, and I knew that I had to try, or I<\/span> would <\/span>be up <\/span>all night<\/span> thinking about it! <\/span>T<\/span>o<\/span> start sleeping better sooner, I <\/span>examined<\/span> my sleeping environment.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step was <\/span>buying<\/span><\/span> a new futon and mattress. I <\/span>did not <\/span>want to spend too much, so I kept my budget below 10,000 yen. I went to the store and <\/span>selected<\/span> a futon from a well-known manufacturer that <\/span>an<\/span> athlete<\/span> had endorsed. I also bought<\/span><\/span> a <\/span>nice<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>thick mattress. <\/span>I admit that the <\/span>new <\/span>items<\/span> felt strange at first due <\/span>to the mattress\u2019 thickness. I felt <\/span>like a sacrifice lying on an altar. However, it worked, and I was amazed at how comfortable I felt in the morning. <\/span>Nevertheless, my shoulders were still <\/span>stiff<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>and <\/span>my <\/span>neck<\/span> was still sore<\/span>, so my next step was to ask my massage therapist to recommend a pillow. <\/span>The new pillow <\/span>somewhat alleviate<\/span>d<\/span> the pain in my shoulders and neck and helped to minimize <\/span>my <\/span>tossing and turning<\/span> at night<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>With it, <\/span>I felt even better when <\/span>I woke <\/span>up. Another <\/span>change <\/span>that helped was wearing recovery sleepwear, a special type of pajamas<\/span><\/span> made from <\/span>a fabric that <\/span>removes <\/span>far-infrared radiation from the body to promote circulation and provide a soothing effect.<\/span> I was skeptical at first, but <\/span>these<\/span> really worked for me. My shoulders felt mostly fine in the morning, and I was able to sleep even better. I <\/span>didn’t<\/span> stop there. I started stretching <\/span>and <\/span>changing <\/span>my clothing<\/span><\/span> after bathing<\/span>. I<\/span><\/span> also <\/span>installed an app on my phone to <\/span>monitor<\/span> my sleep<\/span><\/span> and adjusted the temperature <\/span>in my <\/span>bedroom. My <\/span>sleep <\/span>quality <\/span>continuously improved<\/span>, and I started feeling better too.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

\u25b2My new mattress is very springy, and my son often uses it as a trampoline on mornings.<\/p><\/div>\n

Everyone is different and has a unique lifestyle, such as devoting oneself to work and hobbies, raising children, or serving as a caregiver for family members. No matter what your situation is, sleep is incredibly important to maintain a healthy work<\/span>\u2013<\/span>life balance. I have incrementally carved out personal time in the early morning and have started to see signs that the ambitious work<\/span>\u2013<\/span>life balance I want is coming to fruition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have been feeling tired lately, why not try improving how you sleep?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I for one am looking forward to getting to bed tonight. Pleasant dreams everyone!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25a0 Profile \u25a0<\/p>\n

\n
Yu Takagi joined <\/span>Waseda<\/span> University in April 2011. <\/span>Having worked <\/span>in <\/span>graduate <\/span>school <\/span>administration at the Faculty of Political Science and Economics and <\/span>the <\/span>International Office and <\/span>performed <\/span>secretarial duties <\/span>for the Office of the President, Yu <\/span>currently<\/span> work<\/span>s<\/span><\/span> in<\/span> recurrent education (sometimes called adult reeducation) at the Social and Educational Outreach Office in the Academic Affairs Division.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Series: Tackling Work-Life Balance (30) Getting Enough Sleep to Maintain a Healthy Work\u2013Life Balance \u3000Full-tim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18895"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18898,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18895\/revisions\/18898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/diversity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}