Feeling tired? Wish you had more time in your life? Got too much to do? I answer all three questions in the affirmative, and I am far from alone — in fact, almost everyone I know feels the same. The problem may be a lack of sleep, and, counterintuitively, it may also be a lack of play. But let's start with the former.

We would like more sleep, but we typically feel as if we just don't have the time. The problem is particularly acute in Japan. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare tracks the number of people who report sleeping less than six hours in a 24-hour cycle, and the figure has been steadily increasing over the years. In 2007, around 28 percent of people were getting less than six hours per cycle; by 2015, the figure had climbed to 40 percent. Given that physicians recommend people get between seven and eight hours sleep per night, this is clearly a problem.

It's tempting to see Japan's problems with sleep — or perhaps it's better to say Japan's motivation to work — in the light of the anxiety sowed by Buddha. He was not enamored of sleep and warned his followers not to spend too long in bed, proclaiming: "When one is lazy, gluttonous, snoozing and lolling on the bed like a great fat pig, he will be reborn again and again."