Tomohiko Kimura: Pioneering the "Future of Sleep Environments" from the Bed

Sleep is a very familiar part of our lives, accounting for approximately one-third of a person's lifetime. It is said that the average sleep time of Japanese people is short even by global standards, and terms like "sleep debt" have become a hot topic in the media, leading to an increasing interest in sleep.

In an awareness survey regarding sleep conducted by our company targeting 1,000 men and women in their 20s to 60s nationwide, the results showed that while over 80% of people feel the importance of sleep and realize that sleep affects daytime performance, over 70% of people have not been able to take specific measures for their sleep.

Sleep has many roles, but I will introduce two here. The first is "rest for the brain and body, recovery from fatigue, and repair of physical damage." Sleep allows the body and brain to rest, discharges accumulated waste products, and recovers from fatigue while repairing damage to the body. In cases of lack of sleep, one becomes easily fatigued, irritable, prone to illness, and more susceptible to injury. If sufficient sleep is obtained, one is less likely to tire, becomes mentally calm, and can live energetically.

Next is the "organization and consolidation of memory." It is also known that sleep plays a major role in learning, such as having the function of organizing and consolidating memories. It is said that during REM sleep, memories held while awake are organized and consolidated as high-intensity memories. Since this REM sleep appears more frequently in the latter half of sleep, sufficient sleep time is considered necessary for memory consolidation. In a state where sleepiness remains while awake, it has a negative impact on memory retention and makes it difficult to use the brain to its full potential.

Our company established the Paramount Bed Sleep Research Centers and Institutes in 2009. With our main activities being (1) research on sleep and development of elemental technologies, (2) evaluation of sleep-related products, and (3) collection and dissemination of information regarding sleep, we work earnestly every day to achieve comfortable sleep. We present our research results in academic papers and conference lectures. Through repeated research and development based on scientific evidence, we have developed sensors that can measure sleep status without attaching anything to the body, mattresses that make it easy to toss and turn, and automatic sleep operation that adjusts the angle of the bed according to the sleep state. We also support performance improvement through sleep improvement proposals for the Japan national swimming team and other athletes. In terms of supporting the development of the next generation, we provide an "educational program for junior high school students to learn the importance of sleep" and give lectures at the Keio Futsubu School special class "Meji-Haruka Class."

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, it is said that about one in five Japanese people has concerns about sleep. The economic loss due to lack of sleep is said to be 15 to 18 trillion yen, a massive amount representing about 3 percent of GDP. Solving sleep issues is thought to contribute significantly to solving the challenges of Japan, where the aging population is progressing and the working-age population continues to decline, and the term "SleepTech" has also been coined.

In the fields of medical and nursing care, the use of technology is expected to cover the shortage of workers caused by the increase in elderly patients and elderly people requiring care and the decrease in the working-age population. Our company is currently in the process of popularizing products and services that can also be expected to contribute to improving the sleep of patients, elderly people requiring care, and irregular shift workers. In the health sector, extending healthy life expectancy is expected from the perspective of reducing medical costs and slowing the decline of the working-age population. We are taking on the challenge believing that our SleepTech can contribute to extending healthy life expectancy.

Our Active Sleep BED senses the sleep state and automatically changes the angle of the bed to match each state: when falling asleep, during sleep, and when waking up. For example, when falling asleep, it sets the angle to about 10° with the back raised. Compared to a flat state, the diaphragm lowers and the airway widens, making it easier to breathe and expecting a comfortable transition to sleep. Once it senses that you have fallen asleep, it changes to a flat state at a slow speed of about 1° per minute to make it easier to toss and turn. When waking up, the back moves automatically to encourage a refreshing awakening.

From now on, we will not sleep because we are tired, but actively take sleep to improve the quality of tomorrow's actions. I believe it is necessary to target the sleep environment expanded from the bed so that such a new way of facing sleep becomes established as common sense.

To improve the quality of sleep, it is required to scientifically and totally produce everything from the temperature, humidity, smell, and lighting in the bedroom to the content and timing of meals and exercise. Collaboration with home appliances using sleep data has already begun. We want to further personalize the Sleep Improvement Program™, which provides sleep improvement advice according to sleep data, and provide a wide range of recommendations from the bedroom environment to exercise.

There is a possibility that the content and amount of meals, as well as the appropriate time for meals, can be found through their relationship with sleep data. Toward such a future of the sleep environment where eating good food leads to good sleep, I am also discussing this with Noritaka Ando, the president of Nissin Foods, who has been a classmate since elementary school.