Imagine working for an employer who, aware that you’re probably not sleeping enough at night, allows you to down tools and nap as part of your regular work duties – and not just forty winks at your desk, but a restorative snooze in a quiet room.
考慮到你晚上可能睡眠不足，允許你放下工作去小憩，而且，不是在桌上趴一會兒，而是在一個安靜的房間裡好好睡一覺，養足精神。這樣的老闆你能想像嗎？
These are some of the measures being used by a growing number of companies in Japan to counter an epidemic of sleeplessness that costs its economy an estimated $138bn a year.
這只是日本越來越多的公司為了對抗普遍的失眠症採取的一部分措施。據估計，員工失眠每年導致日本經濟損失1380億美元（9454.8億元人民幣）。
Tech startups have been quickest to address the 「sleep debt」 among irritable and unproductive employees.
科技初創企業是最早採取措施來解決員工缺覺問題的。失眠導致員工急躁易怒、生產效率低下。
Last year, Nextbeat, an IT service provider, went as far as setting up two 「strategic sleeping rooms」 – one for men, the other for women – at its headquarters in Tokyo. The aroma-infused rooms feature devices that block out background noise, allowing workers to stretch out on sofas for an undisturbed kip. Mobile phones, tablets and laptops are banned.
去年，IT服務供應商Nextbeat居然還在東京的總部設立了兩個「戰略臥室」，一個給女性，一個給男性。這個香氣飄散的房間有隔絕背景噪聲的設備，能讓員工在沙發上不受打擾地睡上一覺。手機、平板電腦和筆記本電腦都被禁止帶入房間。
"Napping can do as much to improve someone’s efficiency as a balanced diet and exercise,」 Emiko Sumikawa, a member of the Nextbeat board, told Kyodo news agency.
Nextbeat的董事會成員澄川惠美子告訴共同社說：「睡覺能夠和均衡的飲食和鍛鍊一樣提高工作效率。」
Nextbeat also asks employees to leave work by 9 pm and to refrain from doing excessive overtime, which has been blamed on a rising incidence of karoshi, or death from overwork.
Nextbeat還請員工在晚上9點前下班，並且儘量不要加班太久。加班被視為「過勞死」高發的元兇。
One company even offers financial incentives to persuade its employees to shun overtime and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Crazy, a wedding planning company, awards employees who sleep at least six hours a night with points that can then be exchanged for food in the company cafeteria. Using an app to monitor their sleep, workers can accumulate points worth as much as 64,000 yen a year.
一家公司甚至提供獎金來說服員工不要加班、早點睡覺。婚慶策劃公司Crazy用積分獎勵那些每晚至少睡六個小時的員工，這些積分可以用來換購公司食堂的食物。員工通過一個應用來監控自己的睡眠時間，一年攢下的積分價值可達6.4萬日元（4034元人民幣）。
Japanese workers have more reason than most to submit to the urge for a daytime snooze, whether at work or during long commutes.
相比多數國家的員工，日本員工有更多理由去享受白天的小憩，無論是在工作期間還是在漫長的通勤路上。
A survey conducted using fitness trackers in 28 countries found that Japanese men and women sleep, on average, just 6 hours and 35 minutes a night – 45 minutes less than the international average – making them the most sleep deprived of all.
在28個國家用健身追蹤器開展的一項調查發現，日本男性和女性平均每晚睡眠時間只有6小時35分鐘，比國際平均水平少45分鐘，這意味著日本人是全世界最缺覺的人。
Finnish women, by contrast, sleep almost an hour longer, with an average of 7.45 hours. Estonians, Canadians, Belgians, Austrians, as well as the Dutch and French, all get a comparatively decent night’s sleep, according to the survey.
相比之下，芬蘭女性的平均睡眠時間達7.45小時，比日本人的睡眠時間多出將近一個小時。調查顯示，愛沙尼亞人、加拿大人、比利時人、奧地利人，還有荷蘭人和法國人的睡眠時間都相對較長。
A separate poll by the health products maker Fuji Ryoki found that 92.6% of Japanese over the age of 20 said they were not getting enough sleep.
保健品製造商富士開展的另一項調查發現，20歲以上的日本人有92.6%表示自己睡眠不足。
Even weary workers whose employers have yet to officially sanction power naps at least know that resting their head on their desk for a few minutes probably won’t get them into trouble. Companies generally tolerate inemuri – or 「sleeping while present」 – as a demonstration of their employees』 commitment rather than as a sign of sloth, although nappers should generally remain seated and avoid appearing too comfortable.
即使在那些還未正式允許員工在工作期間補覺的公司，睏倦的員工至少也知道，在桌子上趴幾分鐘並不會給自己招來麻煩。日本公司普遍都容忍「上班打瞌睡」，認為這不但不是偷懶，反而還說明員工很盡職，不過打盹者通常都坐著，而且睡的樣子還不能太舒服。
The government has also come to appreciate the personal and professional benefits of a well-rested workforce, with the health ministry recommending that all working-age people take a nap of up to 30 minutes in the early afternoon – advice readily embraced by some of the country’s politicians.
日本政府也已經意識到了勞動者得到充分休息對個人和工作的益處，日本衛生部（厚生勞動省）建議所有適齡勞動人口午後都要午休30分鐘以上，這個建議一經提出便得到了一些政界人士的贊同。