A wake-up call for the Western world

"Sleep is for the weekend." That phrase, delivered with monotonous regularity by my former boss in the UK - a driven man, reputed to work 15 hours a day, seven days a week - often crosses my mind as I walk around Beijing.

The Chinese, you see, have the enviable knack of nodding off at the drop of a hat during the summer months. It's one of the first things new arrivals notice. People can be seen sleeping all over the place: in offices, restaurants, shops, on street benches, and even in cars - taxi drivers can often be noticed catching 40 winks in the backs of their cabs, pulled up to the curb. A former colleague here at China Daily has even published a small book of photos depicting what appears to be a sizable chunk of the capital's population getting some shut-eye in the most unlikely places.

In a recent development, local newspapers featured photos of some enterprising eyelid examiners who had decamped to the enormous IKEA store in Wang Jing to spend a little quality time snoozing in the bedding department.

Nowadays napping has fallen out of fashion in the West, except in Spain, but even there the traditional post-lunch siesta seems to be in danger of dying out. The growth of corporate culture has seen many people becoming "cash rich, but time poor", a phenomenon that has not only dispensed with the midday nap, but has also reduced lunch from a 60 minute break and a sizeable meal to a snatched sandwich eaten at the desk while one continues working.

Of course, executives and bigwigs can still get some solid sleep during working hours, but the practice is always dressed up as being beneficial to the company; grunts "sag off to sleep", but executives "power-nap". Apparently.

Nowadays in the West, only children and the elderly can nap with impunity in our "24-hour race for quality", as I once heard it sardonically described by friend who works at an investment bank. In a way, his attitude was understandable; his hours are long and the levels of stress to which he's subjected are, to my mind, unacceptable. The upside is that, by anybody's standards, he's paid a king's ransom.

Despite the material benefits, though, I'm beginning to think that we Westerners should reassess our thinking. Research published recently in the journal Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience suggests that short naps can make people better at problem solving, aid retention of recently acquired knowledge, and improve memory function. Surely it's a simple fact that well-rested people are more alert, adept and adaptable than those who live on a constant diet of caffeine and cacophony?

Centuries ago, the benefits of a decent night's sleep were obvious to William Shakespeare. "Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care," he wrote in Macbeth - surely that's just a refined version of the old adage, "Always sleep on a problem."

The growth of corporate culture has given rise to the implication that being tired is a sign of weakness. Because business is no longer just about commercial transactions, it's about war, a mindset signposted by the nomenclature employed; companies no longer have "directors" - Managing Director, Finance Director, etc - they have "officers", Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Finance Officer, with all aggressive, dysfunctional mindset the language implies.

This sociopathic stranglehold is spreading in China, too. That's evidenced by the numerous TV ads for energy drinks that revolve around a thrusting young businessman - and yes, it's always a man - quaffing merrily away at his can of Tangerine Tiger, Lemon Lion, or whatever it's called, while conducting yet another multibillion dollar deal. Perhaps if they got a little more sleep the deal brokers wouldn't need all those energy drinks? I hope it won't beggar local traditions, but its rise seems inexorable as the economy grows and China heads toward top dog status.

I think it's time for normal people to stand up for lying down and proudly embrace sleep in general and daytime naps in particular. Who knows, the revival of "a good kip" could be just the thing to revive jaded Western palettes and put some sparkle back into life?

In fact, it might just be the wakeup call we all need.