25% of adults depend on alcohol, drugs to fall asleep: survey

Friday 26th December, 04:33 AM JST

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AlfGarnett at 09:06 AM JST - 26th December

Since my wife Elsie the silly moo was taken away by the good lord, god rest her soul , i have had terrible trouble sleeping. The woman who was with me nearly all me life , wallop, gone, just like that. I went down the Quack, and after trying a few different sleeping pills because some didn't agree, i found one taht worrks a treat. Some nights i sleep naturally, but it is nice to know there is a pill that enables me to sleep soundly. Granted, i sometimes sleep until nearly lunchtime, but i'm a pensioner. For them working it must be harder cos if you was to wake up while the pill is still working you might get tired and that. Maybe dangerous for some people.

Also if you drink to sleep, it might turn into a habit, then an addiction . I saw it happen to me best mate Arthur, tragic it was, bleeding tragic.
sk4ek at 09:22 AM JST - 26th December

Using alcohol to help one sleep is such a mistake in so many ways. Contrary to popular belief,alcohol is first and foremost a stimulant, not a depressive, and the only way it can help you sleep is if you drink enough of it to--basically--pass out (and this may be as little as a couple of "nightcaps" for some people). In fact, it leaves you even more sleep-deprived, as it prevents you from entering a truly deep sleep, and leaves a hangover to be dealt with the next day as well. Even people who do not drink alcoholically otherwise can suffer the physical consequences of using it in this way.
Richard_the_First at 09:44 AM JST - 26th December

Booze will hook you, too. You will end up at AA meetings.
FreeInJapan at 10:02 AM JST - 26th December

I'm no math whiz, but I do believe 1 in 5 would make, uh, 20% and not 25%... or you would have to say 1 in 4 adults... sorry, just had to point that out.
PepinGalarga at 10:09 AM JST - 26th December

good catch freeinjapan.

also, Altria, if you count Caffeine to stay awake during the day, the guilty rate is close to 100% here.
tkoind2 at 10:14 AM JST - 26th December
More research?!?!?! How clueless can the government be here? Let's do a little review of my research on stressful lives in Japan.
1. Everyone I know, except the unemployed, work at least 20hrs OT or more a week overtime. Many as much as 60-100hrs a month of OT. 90% of them do so for free because they have no other option.
2. Everyone I know, except a hand full of rich guys, commute on insanely crowded trains every day where they are stuffed in like sardines and bounced about like pin balls for 30mins to 2hrs depending upon where they live.
3. Most people contend with relatively thankless jobs and managers who are on major power trips, bullies or who just don't care about the welfare of their staff.
4. Most work for companies that they know don't offer any real security or significant opportunity. And few are working in their ideal field.
Add to this those who support families, work in depressed or declining industries and it gets worst.

So, regarding research. Just open your eyes and look around. Talk to a few people about their work routines and daily stress and the clear answer will be that most working people in Japan are experiencing STRESS.

Now. About Alcohol use research. Government officials, please ride my train line any evening after 8pm. Count the number of people who have been drinking. Then as a subset, count how many are legally drunk. Then count the number of obscenely drunk people in any given train car.

If observations are an indicator. At least 30% have been drinking. 10-15% are legally drunk and at least 1-5% are falling down drunk. Do this test on a Friday and raise the numbers significantly.

I am not blaming the drunk people on my train. They are working hard and under a lot of stress with few other outlets. But one has to wonder why a society would allow this to continue. People need more balanced lives, better economic assurances and better mental health care. Stress should be something we try to reduce not hide by drinking it away. Research and solution recommendation completed.
archmiel at 10:19 AM JST - 26th December

Woohoo, chalk me up as dependent on drugs/alcohol to fall asleep, for basically the exact reasons tkoind2 lists.

It's even worse if you have experienced a nervous breakdown before. Then all that bologne about "good stress/bad stress" goes out the window. All stress is bad, and it is overwhelming. Combine that with no outlet or support for the mentally troubled and I am a ticking time bomb. Power to the booze!
noborito at 11:18 AM JST - 26th December

Are you sure the word "and" is correct? Shouldn't it be "or"?
European1 at 11:59 AM JST - 26th December

But one has to wonder why a society would allow this to continue. People need more balanced lives, better economic assurances and better mental health care.

If you were "trained" or "programmed" from birth to do things not think, you would allow to continue too. Merry Xmas and a Happy new Year
proxy at 12:48 PM JST - 26th December

Give me a drink and I'm out like a light. The trouble is that I have to wake up at 3:00 a.m. for a widdle so I don't drink near my bed time.
bamboohat at 12:59 PM JST - 26th December

From the simpsons:

Marge (reading off the questions to check if Homer is an alcoholic): Do you need a beer to fall asleep?

Homer: Sure! Thanks!
medievaltimes at 03:19 PM JST - 26th December

It's culturally/socially acceptable to be an alcoholic in Japan.
JapanHusker at 03:54 PM JST - 26th December

"It's culturally/socially acceptable to be an alcoholic in Japan."

Depends what your definition of "alcoholic" is...
FreeInJapan at 04:04 PM JST - 26th December

I think you mean to say it's socially acceptable to be an alchohol-ABUSER in Japan. An alchohol-abuser is not the same thing as someone who is alcohol-dependent (alchoholic).

Also, something to point out, the need to have a drink in order to sleep is one of the markers for alchohol-depedency.
medievaltimes at 11:56 PM JST - 26th December

Let me clarify. It's culturally/socially acceptable to be an alcoholic/alcohol abuser/alcohol dependent.