Sleeping Asian Hidden Danger

I’m continually amazed that Asians appear to be able to sleep anywhere.   I mean anywhere and it is largely all Asians. I have witnessed people sleeping on public transportation, in restaurants, public parks, libraries, their work place and much more.  It appears to be widespread throughout Asia, and I see it in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.

I’m sure there is a cultural aspect to this behavior, but there must also be a level of genetic ability to sleep on public transportation with some level of dignity.  Other than a long distance plane trip, I never sleep other than at my designated bedtime.  If I slept in public, especially while sitting, I would be head bobbing, head banging, leaning on my neighbor, drooling non-stop and maybe worse.

When I get on a bus or train, as much as 90% of the travelers will be sleeping.  How do they sleep so well and still wake up at their designated stop?  My theory is that Asians must be superior.   

One time I took a trip to Germany with my Plant Manager and he drank too much beer at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich.   While traveling on the train back to our hotel, he unexpectedly bolted out of his seat, exited the train and watched me as the train left, while he was on the deck outside.  Long story short, he boarded the next train, fell asleep and ended up 60 miles from our hotel when he awoke, only to find out the train had stopped running for the night.  This is not the end of the story, but it is over for purposes of this blog.  The relevance is that Caucasians can fall asleep on public transportation if alcohol is involved.

Asians don’t need alcohol and will typically have their eyes closed within 30 seconds of sitting.  How do they not hurt themselves and how do they awake in time for their stops?  Actually they are not necessarily as good of public sleepers as I had originally thought.  My wife and I witnessed one woman sleeping on a bus, only to have her head slammed hard against the window, when the bus turned abruptly.  It had to hurt and everyone was surprised there was no blood on the window or head.  Another time I watched a woman wake up thinking she missed her stop.  The panic on her face, followed by the relief when she found out she hadn’t passed her stop was fun to watch.  Both the woman and I laughed.  My teenage stepdaughter is often late coming home, for suspicious reasons I won’t discuss.  One of her excuses is that she fell asleep on the bus and missed her stop.  Actually that is probably true.

Asians sleep easily and don’t mind sleeping in public.  Caucasians are more self-conscience and will typically avoid sleeping if they can.  Nobody sleeps well in public and it has become one of my favorite forms of entertainment.  I went to the internet to borrow some pictures of sleeping Asians.  I was amazed to find hundreds of “sleeping Asian” websites created by Caucasians.