Tag: Stress

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Wellness

Educational Costs, impacting life choices

A 2021 survey (1) found that both public and private education costs had reached new highs. The cost of 15 years of private education was 3.2 times the cost of public education.

Study costs, 15 years from Kindergarten through High School¥ m
Public only5.7
Private kindergarten, Public thereafter6.2
Private kindergarten and High school, Public at other times7.8
Private only18.4

Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, sports, Science, and Technology

In addition to the difference in classroom tuition costs, other normal school related costs (excursions and field trips, extracurricular activities, textbooks and supplies, commuting costs) are higher at private schools. (2)

However, the relative cost is markedly highest at elementary schools.

 PublicPrivateMultiple
Kindergarten¥165,126¥308,9091.9x
Elementary¥352,566¥1,666,9494.7x
Junior high¥538,799¥1,436,3532.7x
High school¥512,971¥1,054,4442.1x

In the case of private elementary schools, the cost of supplementary study expenses is notably higher, approximately ¥663,000 a year versus ¥245,000 a year. (1) The probable additional service being provided is keeping the children at the school for three hours or so after the end of normal classes. This targets the “First-Grade Wall” (3) which relates to children advancing from kindergarten to elementary school at age 6.

Kindergarten3 yearsAge 3-5Optional
Elementary school6 yearsAge 6-11Compulsory
Junior high school3 yearsAge12-14Compulsory
High school3 yearsAge 15-17Optional

Public elementary schools send children home mid-afternoon. Parents are then responsible for their safety. Choices include one spouse changing from full-time to part-time work, everyday private lessons, or sports activities outside school, or finding regular after-school care.

The private school option is an expensive one.

Financial planning needs to start as early as possible.

References:

  1. Public and Private education Costs in Japan Soar to New Highs, Nippon.com, January 11, 2023
  2. Private School Costs triple Public Education Level Through High School, Nippon.com, October 4, 2018
  3. First-Grade Wall: Elementary School Places New Burdens on Working Parents, Nippon.com, January 4, 2023
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Wellness

Ikigai, but in Japan it is probably not work

The Japanese word Ikigai is known worldwide. It translates as the reason for living, one’s purpose in life. (1) Ikigai is associated with a longer life. (2) Please see our blog post of May 8, 2021.

Surveys (3, 4) of Japanese workers’ attitude to work indicate its relative lack of importance.

 JapanWorldwide
Importance of work in your life48%72%
My job gives me a sense of purpose38%57%

Source: Nippon.com (3)

72% of employees surveyed responded that they did not want to become a manager. (4) The reasons for this are shown below (multiple replies possible).

Reasons for not wanting a management position
No desire for advancement51%
Too many additional responsibilities50%
Increased workload43%
Not suited to management38%
Work is easier in current position25%
Would ruin my work-life balance24%
Salary would not increase proportionately23%
Satisfied with current situation9%
Don’t intend to stay with the company long-term8%
Wouldn’t be able to do the work I like7%

Source: Nippon.com (4)

This has implications for household finances. Previously office workers advanced with seniority, and the gradual increase in managerial responsibilities (being accountable for the performance of more people). Incomes grew steadily with time. This facilitated family formation and retirement savings. For the 70% of people that now wish to avoid advancement, incomes are less likely to grow.

It also suggests that many of Japan’s managers under the old system were performing management roles against their desire. This was probably associated with high stress.

References:

  1. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles, 2016.
  2. Relationship of having hobbies and a purpose in life with mortality, activities of daily living, and instrumental activities of daily living among community-dwelling elderly adults, by Kimiko Tomioka, Norio Kurumatani, and Hiroshi Hosoi, March 5, 2016
  3. Survey reveals Japanese Attitudes toward Work, Nippon.com, April 19, 2023
  4. Management positions Lose their Appeal to Japanese Employees, Nippon.com, February 22, 2023
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Wellness

Physical Contact: Welcomed intimate touch reduces anxiety

The Japanese say “skin-ship”: 「スキンシップ」.

The 2020-2022 global pandemic caused a sharp change in social behavior. This has facilitated analysis of physical contact’s impact on psychological wellbeing. One comprehensive study (1) found that in general deprivation of intimate touch (e.g., caressing, kissing, warm hugs) from close family was associated with increased feelings of anxiety and loneliness. However, the lack of friendly physical contact (e.g., social hugs, handshakes, shoulder taps) from friends or at work did not have a similar impact on psychological wellbeing.

Human skin has sensors called C-tactile fibers that detect the gentle stroking touch of 1 to 10 centimeters per second that people say is pleasant. Social touch causes the release of oxytocin, a social-bonding hormone, in the brain. Oxytocin is also believed to reduce anxiety and pain. (2)

There is an extensive research literature investigating the importance of touch:

Touch and different factors
FactorReferences
Social bonds3, 4, 5
Human psychology6, 7, 8, 9, 10
A person’s likability11, 12, 13
Generosity and compliance13, 14, 15
Infant stress16, 17
Infant touch deprivation18, 19, 20, 21
Infants and carers22, 23, 24
Close relationships25

For the references, please follow the link here.

The benefits of physical contact are not limited to humans; nor are they new.

To quote Ishmail Abdus-Saboor of Columbia University: “All mammals that have been studied have C-tactile fibers, suggesting that these sensory cells, and the ability to detect social touch, are evolutionarily conserved and essential.” (2)

Scientists have also studied the benefits for children and adults of stuffed animals. “For children, stuffed animals can provide comfort and security at bedtime, opportunities to develop and practice reading skills, and relief from pain in post-surgical settings.” (26) For adults, “across two studies, we found that socially excluded individuals who touched a teddy bear acted more prosocially as compared to socially excluded individuals who just viewed the teddy bear from a distance.” (27)

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Wellness

Japan and Financial Literacy

A survey by the BOJ (1) found low levels of financial education (just 6.6%), and low financial literacy, as defined by the BOJ (20.9%). At the same time, Japanese households were found to be highly conservative, below.

It is unclear whether low financial literacy leads to conservative household financial management, or that the latter has diminshed the urge to pursue the former.

The survey results indicate Japanese households are overwhelmingly prudent in paying their bills on time (spread score of +80.3, table below), more think long term (spread +30.9), whilst few live short-term (spread -37.4), and very few have too much debt (spread -62.5).

Risk aversion is further evidenced by the negative spread on those prepared to risk losses when investing.

“Spread” below is the percentage of survey respondents that answered strongly agree or agree, minus those that answered disagree or strongly disagree.

Spread
+80.3 – I pay my bills on time
+30.9 – I set long term financial goals and strive to achieve them
-37.4 – I tend to live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself
-62.5 – I have too much debt right now
-13.3 – I am prepared to risk some of my own money when saving or making an investment

For more data on financial literacy in Japan, please follow the link here.

References:

  1. Financial Literacy Survey: 2016 Results, Bank of Japan, October 2016
Categories
Wellness

Covid-19, Japan’s Elderly, Exercise, and Mental Health

A study (1) examined the prevalence of exercise as a coping strategy among Japanese community-dwelling older adults and its impact on their psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Spanning Japan’s first Covid-19 lockdown period, the study covered 618 community-dwelling older adults.

The study concluded: Older adults who walked to maintain their physical and mental health experienced better well-being than those who did not.

This is in line with established scientific research on the relationship between exercise and mental health.

A review (2) of over 1000 academic research studies over 1990-2020 looking at the relationship between exercise and mental health commented:

Physical health is clearly intertwined with mental health in a bidirectional fashion. Scientific evidence shows that changes in thinking patterns and behaviors affect neurological, endocrine, and immune systems. Conversely, disruption in these biological systems negatively impacts mental health.

As well as biological pathways – such as increasing brain neurotransmitters and improving hormone function involved in mental health, exercise appears to improve mental health through social and self-efficacy pathways,

Selected key conclusions are shown below.

Exercise and Mental Health: Move Your Mental Health study (2) selected conclusions
Does exercise and physical activity benefit mental health?
89% of all published peer-reviewed research between 1990 and 2020 found a positive, statistically significant relationship between exercise/physical activity and mental health.
How much exercise and how often?
Overall, three to five 30-45-minute moderate to vigorous exercise sessions per week appear to deliver optimal mental health benefits (3)
What type of exercise?
High-intensity exercise regimens are generally more effective than low-intensity regimens (4)
Mindfulness-based activities like yoga and tai chi, though they can be lower intensity forms of movement, deliver more mental health benefits than walking
What mental health outcomes are most impacted by exercise?
Exercise is strongly associated with general mental and emotional well-being including reduced stress, and improved mood and quality of life
Evidence strongly supports cardiovascular/aerobic exercise for reducing depression, showing medium to large effect sizes
Evidence shows moderate but reliable effect sizes for cardiovascular/aerobic exercise reducing symptoms in people with anxiety disorders
Yoga and other mindful exercises such as Tai Chi and Qigong show strong evidence for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression
Source: Move Your Mental Health, (2) Conceptasia, January 2022

References:

  1. Exercise as a coping strategy and its impact on the psychological well-being of Japanese community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study, by Manami Ejiri, Hisashi Kawai, Takeshi Kera, Kazshige Ihara, Yoshinori Fujiwara, Yutaka Watanabe, Hirohiko Hirano, Hunkyung Kim, and Shuichi Obuchi, September 2021
  2. Move Your Mental Health, A review of the scientific evidence on the role of exercise and physical activity on mental health, by John W. Brick, mental foundation, May 2021
  3. Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1·2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study, by Chekroud, S. R., Gueorguieva, R., Zheutlin, A. B., Paulus, M., Krumholz, H. M., Krystal, J. H., & Chekroud, A. M., 2018
  4. Exercise in the treatment of clinical anxiety in general practice – a systematic review and meta-analysis, by Aylett, E., Small, N. & Bower, P., 2018
Categories
Wellness

Kakeibo & Financial Wellness

Kakeibo, a household accounting book, and the practice of recording and monitoring income and expenditures in a physical notebook, traces its origins in Japan to 1904, and to Hani Motoko, its inventor. The kakeibo method forces one to think about one’s needs, spending and motivations, leading to an increased ability to save. (1, 2, 3)

Financial Wellness

The fundamental difference with existing personal financial planning is that “Financial Wellness” does not begin with money, but with an understanding of Wellness and the associated attainment of longevity and the 100-year life.

Without having wellness at one’s core, money worries can flood in. Surveys usually find money to be the number one cause of stress. With wellness the core focus, money becomes a facilitator, in fact just one of many facilitators. Fortunately, a wellness regime only requires a modest amount of money

Financial Wellness & Savings

In an environment of the 100-year life, we postulate that after education, people will be working from age 25 to 80 followed by 20 years of leisure.

Whilst working, we recommend saving 20% of one’s after-tax income.

In contrast to the conventional study-work-retire cycle, the new typical life will include one or two career reinventions involving changing industries (as well as working for multiple different companies during each career phase). Career reinventions will involve perhaps 1-3 years of retraining, repositioning.

To facilitate the above financial resources are needed not just for the 20 years after the age of 80, but also during the career reinvention periods.

For more, please see the 17-page Financial Wellness paper here.

References.

  1. CNBC: I tried ‘Kakeibo’: The Japanese art of saving money—and it completely changed how I spend my money, by Sarah Harvey, published January 2020
  2. Credit.com, Kakeibo: The Mindful Japanese Budgeting System, published August 2021
  3. Japan Times: Kakeibo: Turning a dull aspect of Japanese life into social media gold, published January 2020

Categories
Wellness

Sustained Meditation Reduces Cortisol (the stress hormone)

Investigating the effect of meditation on stress through both the measurement of hair-based glucocorticoid assays, and from questionnaire data, the October 2021 RCT study (1) concluded that:

Our results show that daily mental training for 3 to 6 months can buffer the long-term systemic stress load of healthy adults. This was reflected in a reduction of cortisol (HC) and cortisone (HE) accumulation in hair, while levels of self-reported chronic stress were less consistently decreased.

How scientists measure stress is discussed here.

The study also found that the reduction of cortisol (HC) and cortisone (HE) accumulation in hair were independent of specific training content, (table below), positively associated with practice frequency for HC, and reached a ceiling after 6 months of training.

Equally, it took 6 months until significant differences to the baseline were achieved in all training cohorts, suggesting that reliable long-term benefits emerge only after a relatively long period of intense training.

The study used a range of meditation techniques
1) Attention/Interoceptive Awareness
The Core Exercises:
Breathing Meditation
Body Scan
2) Care, Compassion, Gratitude/Prosocial Motivation/Dealing with Difficult emotions
The Core Exercises
Loving-kindness Meditation
Affect Dyad
3) Meta-cognition/Perspective-taking on Self/Perspective-taking on Others
The Core Exercises
Observing-thought Meditation
Perspective Dyad

For much more on meditation and wellness, please see our book, available on Amazon:

Wellness and Meditation, Perspectives from Japan. The scientific underpinnings and practical problems of building mental resiliency.

References:

  1. Contemplative Mental Training Reduces Hair Glucocorticoid Levels in a Randomized Clinical Trial, by Puhlmann, Lara M.C.; Vrticka, Pascal; Linz, Roman; Stalder, Tobias; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Engert, Veronika; Singer, Tania, in Psychosomatic Medicine, October 2021
Categories
Wellness

The 2020 Lockdown and the Missing Japanese Women Runners

The media reported a global running boom during the lockdowns of 2020. (1, 2, 3, 4)

However, recently released data for Japan show a decline in women’s participation 2020 versus 2018. (5) The survey has been conducted every two years since 1998.

On a variety of measures Japan’s running participation rate, 2020 versus 2018, has risen:

Participation rate (%), Running, Three frequency measures

 20182020
Once a week or more  
Overall5.35.6
Male7.88.7
Female2.82.6
Once a month or more  
Overall6.47.0
Once a year or more  
Overall9.310.2
Male12.914.9
Female5.85.6

Source: Sasakawa Sports Foundation, (5) Conceptasia, November 2021

However, the increasing participation rate, 2020 versus 2018, is entirely driven by men

Data by gender and age is available for the “Once a year or more” measure. The decline in participation of women in their thirties, 2020 versus 2018, is notably pronounced. The data is in the supporting paper, here.

An obvious observation is that with kindergartens and schools closed, those with young children would be forced to provide continuous care at home. This is likely to be most prevalent amongst parents in their thirties.

Time and more data will enable stronger conclusions.

Running is regarded as one of the best exercises for easing stress. (2) This reflects its rhythmic nature enabling experienced runners to get “into the zone.”

Unexpected childcare responsibilities and a loss of a stress-reduction technique could result in mental wellness issues for some Japanese women in their thirties.

References

  1. Asics: New study explores the world’s new-found love of running, June 2020. https://www.asics.com/za/en-za/blog/article/new-study-explores-the-world%27s-new-found-love-of-running
  2. Stylist: Running in lockdown: why have so many women turned to jogging for their mental health? https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/running-mental-health-lockdown/494980
  3. Runners World: 2020 Was a Crazy Running Year. Here’s the Data to Prove It, December 2020 https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a34949046/2020-year-in-running-data/
  4. Run Repeat: Exercise is Up 88% During COVID-19 [12,913 Person Study], August 2021. https://runrepeat.com/exercise-covid-19-study
  5. Sasakawa Sports Foundation, October 2021: Jogging / running estimated population, record high of 10.55 million https://re-how.net/all/1435656/
Categories
Wellness

Stress & Mental Wellness

The full 12-page PDF article is here:

https://wellnessasianopportunities.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Stress-and-Mental-Wellness-January-2021-PEC.pdf

The Covid-19 Pandemic has forced people to realize the importance of a strong immune system and mental resilience. This article looks at the latter and the role that mental wellness has in offsetting stress, and thus mitigating the problems associated with prolonged stress.

Prolonged stress is a trigger for persistent inflammation in the body, which can cause problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Under prolonged stress, these inflammatory proteins can seep into the brain, weakening the hippocampus. The latter is also weakened by hormones in the brain (e.g., cortisol and CRF) which evidence suggests also increase with stress. One consequence is that the amygdala can become dominant, “permanently switched on”, hyperactive. The result is impaired emotional and behavioural control (weak self-regulation skills), reduced attentiveness, all impacting learning, and memory capabilities.

Stress destabilizes the natural balance between rational thinking and emotions.

Battling prolonged stress

The following are probably the basics:

  1. Exercise has an anti-inflammatory benefit, helping to combat inflammation in the body. There is also evidence that exercise helps produce new brain cells, including in the hippocampus.
  2. Social interaction. Oxytocin, the “love hormone”, produced from trusting relationships can offset the effects of cortisol, the “stress hormone”.
  3. Ongoing learning appears to establish a cognitive reserve, which acts as a buffer to negative life events.
  4. Meditation: A 2014 study concluded that the evidence was moderately strong (on a scale of high, moderate, low, insufficient) that there is small but consistent benefit for mindfulness meditation programs to improve anxiety, depression, and pain.

A key question relates to the relative effectiveness of each of the above approaches. A recent study concluded with respect to reducing stress that: In these RCTs, mindfulness is neither better nor worse than other feel-good practices such as physical exercise. Meditation tends to be relatively simple to practise, cost effective to implement and low risk.

Given the variety of causes and signs of stress, and its subjective measurement, it is not surprising that a breadth of techniques and products have developed to aid mental resiliency. The Defining the Mental Wellness Economy report of November 2020 from the Global Wellness Institute was the first research to measure mental wellness as a global industry, estimated at US$121bn. Given the scale of the issues involved, it is surprising that the Mental Wellness Economy is currently estimated at just 3% of the Global Wellness Economy. This could be interpretated as a major market opportunity.

Here at Conceptasia, we have knowledge and networks in the developing meditation market.  

Categories
Wellness

J-Wellness 2020

Published August 2020; Available on Amazon

Wellness is about helping people to live well.

2020 was anticipated to be a joyous celebration of athletic prowess at the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, and a discovery by the world of Japan’s Wellness-related activities (J-Wellness) that underpin the world’s longest national life expectancy.

Instead, in the face of the ongoing global pandemic and devastated economies, people are in survival mode, looking to Wellness to boost their immune systems as their first line of defence against the “Shingata Coronavirus”, the new-form coronavirus as the Japanese call it.

J-Wellness is both ancient traditions and pro-active modern practices. Zen meditation for Mental Wellness, the tea ceremony for the antioxidants-rich green tea (antioxidants protect the body against cellular damage and disease), and onsen (hot springs for quiet contemplation of nature with hydrotherapy benefits and seasonal, local cuisine fine dinners), are not part of the daily routine of the average Japanese. However, community awareness, drinking green tea and bathing are everyday practices. Traditional nutritionally balanced Japanese cuisine lives on in daily bento boxes for lunch eaten at schools and at office desks. The past intermingles with the present.

Government programs have been striving to reduce lifestyle diseases associated with sedentary and stressful living for decades. This has involved specific health and wellness targets. For example, to reduce obesity, the Metabo Law, 2008, set maximum waist measurements at 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, with education support given to those who exceeded these levels. In addition, local governments and companies are potentially liable to fines. Currently, 26% of Japan’s population aged 15 or older are overweight, defined as having a BMI of 25 or more; it is 71% in the United States, 64% in the U.K.

Since we believe that Japan’s relatively low “Shingata Coronavirus” related death rate relative to other nations importantly reflects the good life-style behaviours of J-Wellness, our message has become more urgent. The global environment is now far grimmer, but the value of J-Wellness to the world has become even more important.