In Okinawa, people traditionally sit on the floor to read, eat, talk, and relax instead of sitting in chairs, though this practice is dying out among younger generations in Asia.
Proponents of the Japanese sleep system claim many benefits--both health and otherwise--to sleeping on the floor. Among them: Cooler temperatures, since cool air settles to the floor. Better circulation, and reduced back and muscle pain.
Sitting upright on the floor is common in many situations in Japan. For example, meals are traditionally held on a tatami floor around a low table. Sitting on the floor is also customary during the tea ceremony and other traditional events.
The polite and formal way to sit is called seiza (正座), kneeling with your legs together, and the tops of your feet flat on the ground. If you're not used to sitting like this, you might find you get uncomfortable very quickly, and that it's a real struggle to stay still for more than a few minutes.
Sitting on the floor has long been part of Japan's way of life. In traditional homes, people eat and sleep on straw floor mats known as tatami. Numerous Japanese cultural activities, from Zen meditation to the tea ceremony, are done completely or partly while sitting on the floor.
This exercises their legs, back, and core in a natural way as they get up and down all day long. Sitting on the floor also improves posture and increases overall strength, flexibility, and mobility. Studies correlate the “ability to sit and rise from the floor without support” with a longer life expectancy.
Seiza is one of the most commonly used sitting postures in various enrichment lessons of Japanese origin. It is reported that Seiza with large knee flexion produces harmful effects on the cartilage of knee joints and hemodynamics of the lower legs.
Ergonomically, Seiza helps in maintaining proper vertebral alignment, aiding and even preventing back pain. Additionally, sitting in an upright position helps improve blood circulation, a vital part of general muscle, bone, and organ health.
While it looks nice and dignified, the downside to seiza is that it can put a lot of your weight right on top of the tender ligaments of your knees, ankles, and other lower body parts. Even many modern Japanese people find seiza incredibly uncomfortable.
Without chairs or bedding, the Japanese generally used the floor to sit and sleep on. This is because the Japanese believe in the concept of ma, or negative space, and a desire for simplicity. Objects would be placed very far apart, as the traditional Japanese believed that this space encouraged creativity.
In Japan, crossing your legs in formal or business situations is considered rude because it makes you look like you have an attitude or like you're self-important. In Japan, sitting with your back straight and your legs together with one hand on each knee is taught from childhood.
Japanese have developed the custom of eating meals sitting on tatami mats, not on chairs. They also roll out the futon on which they sleep on the tatami floor. Therefore, they take their shoes off when entering the house to avoid getting the floor dirty.
Japanese life expectancy
This low mortality is mainly attributable to a low rate of obesity, low consumption of red meat, and high consumption of fish and plant foods such as soybeans and tea. In Japan, the obesity rate is low (4.8% for men and 3.7% for women).
Tatami Mats
It is common practice in Japan to sleep on a very thin mattress over a tatami mat, made of rice straw and woven with soft rush grass. The Japanese believe this practice will help your muscles relax, allowing for a natural alignment of your hips, shoulders and spine.
According to a survey conducted in 2021, people in Japan slept on average 471 minutes per night, equaling about seven hours and 51 minutes. The average sleeping time on weekdays was slightly lower.
It is common for people to sit down while showering before entering the public bath or hot spring, so the chairs are free to use. The most important part here is an obvious one: keeping everything clean and tidy.
Those unfamiliar with seiza will likely find that maintaining it for more than a minute or two tends to lead to paresthesia, whereby the compression of the nerves causes a loss of their blood flow, with the accompanying "pins and needles" feeling, followed by painful burning sensations, and then eventually complete ...
They eat nutritious foods in each meal that includes carbohydrate, animal protein, vegetable protein, healthy fat, vitamins, and minerals. Thus, they enjoy eating rice, fish, soy, vegetables, fruit, and green tea without sugar.
How long can you sit in seiza? It depends. If you're doing seiza for a short period of time, you can sit for about 20 minutes without any issues. If you're going to be sitting longer than that, it's important to take breaks, and make sure you get up and move around every once in a while.
In Japan, the prevalence of knee pain was reported to be 33% (men 28%, women 35%) in an integrated cohort in which most participants were 60 years of age or older [2]. In a cohort study of Japanese workers who were 19–64 years old, the one-month prevalence of knee pain was 12% [3].
Seiza helps correct your posture and strengthen your spinal cord. There is no way people can slouch when they are practicing this posture. Relieves backache, relaxes muscles and spine: Since it engages the abdominal and back muscles, sitting in Seiza ensures this set of muscles is trained.
The traditional Japanese diet focuses on whole, minimally processed, nutrient-rich, seasonal foods. It's particularly rich in seafood, vegetables, and fruit, and limits meat, dairy, and snacks. It may improve digestion, aid weight management, help you live longer, and protect against various diseases.
Part of the tea ceremony involves making a humble entrance to the house itself. Scooting through the small opening on one's hands and knees serves as a way of humbling oneself and deflating the ego.
There's no doubt that Japanese cuisine is one of the healthiest in the world. A big part of that is because of the many vegetables that are used in traditional dishes. Vegetables are an important part of any healthy diet, and they offer a host of benefits for your body.