I am sure many have struggled with the great Post Prandial Problem. But, back in my student days, I used to worry that I was in a minority of one.

We would have tutorials in the afternoon, immediately after lunch. We would perch on small stools, precariously, around the tutor sitting in a chair in the centre. However, after lunch, my brain would shut down for an hour or more and no amount of caffeine could overcome my urge to sleep.

That was the first and only time I thanked my myopia. I wore thick rimmed spectacles which I would slide down my nose, close my eyes behind the thick upper rim and go to sleep. The sleep was light and never reached REM stage. My head would bob up and down and the tutor probably thought I was in agreement with what was being taught.

This problem has continued throughout my adult life. I have become a master in inventing excuses to not attend anything after lunch. However, this has led to an accumulation of guilt of having lost precious time, of being in an abnormal minority.

Then recently, I came across a Japanese word. In Japan, they have made it into an art to have beautiful words to explain and rationalize human foibles.

If you have flaws, irregularities and imperfections, do not worry. You have Wabi-Sabi.

If you make things out of broken objects, you are not a cheapskate. You have Kintsugi.

And my favourite : Inemuri, which literally means, To Sleep While Being Present.

I realized I was not alone. This trait was fairly common and socially accepted, at least in Japan. Decades of guilt dissolved in a moment.

Studies have shown afternoon naps to be physiological and beneficial.

So now, in a conference, if someone asks me about my plan after lunch, I smile dreamily and say “Inemuri”.

Arigatou Japan!

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