Taxi Driver Online

July 3, 2006 Monday

HEADLINE: How the Japanese are getting a buzz out of falling asleep at work

Colin Joyce in Tokyo

THE sleep-deprived Japanese have found a cure for nodding off at inappropriate times.

The "nap alarm'', a device fixed to an ear, buzzes the moment the wearer's head nods forward. The ticklish sensation wakes the wearer and temporarily banishes the alpha waves that cause sleepiness. Japanese politicians are notorious for sleeping in parliament, while "salary men'' frequently doze during interminable meetings in offices where long hours are the norm.

Few Japanese sleep more than six hours a night and it is common to see whole rows of office workers fast asleep on commuter trains.

The inventor of the pounds 9 device, Kozo Samizo, came up with the idea after he dozed off at the wheel and crashed into a parked car.

"It is highly effective but the sensation makes you giggle as well,'' he said.

His alarm was initially marketed to taxi and lorry drivers. But it has proved an unexpected hit with the wider population. Sales of the vibrating alarm, which resembles a hearing aid, now outstrip production.

It has even been ordered for trainee Zen monks who are required to sit for hours in meditation.

Traditionally any who fell asleep were woken with a whack from a stick wielded by a priest.