Here are what our visitors have to say about cultural customs relating to sleep in their countries' and families' traditions.
Country: China / Hong Kong
Culture: There are some "sleep" differences over in this part of the world. Chinese customs are changing now, but there are many who keep the older patterns. In mainland China, there is a noon time nap. Generally businesses and schools are closed from noon to 2:00. After eating lunch, people take a nap before going back to work or school. When I first went to China in 1992, you could not accomplish anything during that time because banks, post office, travel agent, stores, etc were all closed. Now sometimes they are open with a rotation of staff. But people generally guard their rest time. There is no such formal rest break in Hong Kong, where the pace of life is very fast most times of the day.
People in mainland China tend to go to bed earlier and to get up very early in the morning. School loudspeakers are already playing loud exercise music sometimes as early as 6 a.m. Public activities in Hong Kong tend to start later in the morning and go well into the night. For example, stores tend to open between 10:30 and noon. But then they won't close until late, 10:30 or 11 at night.
Traditionally, people in China don't use a mattress like ours on their beds. Instead, there is a board covered with a thin padding made (I think) from a cotton batting. This is then covered with one colorful sheet which hangs down over the edges of the bed. What you put over your body is not a sheet in our [American] usual sense. In the warmer weather it is a large terry cloth towel-like "sheet." Some people mistake it for a towel, but it is much bigger than even a beach towel. . . . It "hugs" your body. In the winter there is also a large thick quilt or comforter that usually has been inserted in a washable sheet-like covering which can be removed. The quilt may be made of cotton, silk, or synthetic batting or of feathers or down. There might also be a wool blanket, which is also sometimes "housed" in a sheet-like removable covering. All of the top bedding is folded up during the day and piled (usually at the head of the bed) with the pillow on top. It is often folded in thirds lengthwise and then in quarters widthwise. The "quarters" are often done by first folding the top and bottom ends in towards the middle and then folding the result in half. The pillow is usually smaller and less thick than ours [plump or fluffy large American pillows] are and is often covered by a fancy case which is not often removed. To keep the case clean and for changing bedding for another person, a "pillow-sized" towel-like [covering] is placed on the top of the pillow before laying your head on it.
In the heat of the summer, a straw or bamboo mat is placed on the bed for sleeping because it is much cooler than sleeping on sheets ... . Sometimes if it is very hot, people will move their mats to the floor instead of sleeping on the bed, because the coolest air is at the floor level.
I currently generally use this traditional Chinese style of bedding and like it very much. ... There are many Chinese who have western-style beds and bedding in the mainland, though their mattresses are sometimes firmer than ours. I think that a lot of Chinese in Hong Kong have western style beds and bedding, except for the more recent immigrants.
In the mainland, hotels generally have western-style beds and bedding. Mattresses may vary from very firm to very soft and saggy. Guest houses that don't have permission to take foreigners tend to have Chinese-style bedding.
The Chinese in the mainland usually shower at night rather than in the morning. They don't do this every night because they don't always have their own shower facility. However, every night before going to bed they will wash their feet in warm water (in a little basin). This is really nice on cold nights.
In Nanjing [I knew a family who lived] in just one room in the teacher's dormitory. There was a common kitchen and a common bathroom for all of the families on the floor. In their [one] room they had a double bed, a couch, a refrigerator, [and a few small pieces of furniture]. I assume that their son slept on the couch, but it is possible that all three of them shared the double bed. .... . They now have a "regular" apartment with two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bath."
Name: U.S. citizen teacher of English to Chinese students and American Baptist missions teacher who lived in mainland China for a few years and in Hong Kong for the past two years.
Country: France
Culture: A "Different Pillow" - When I was an American exchange student staying in a college dormitory in France, I was surprised to find no pillow like I was used to, but a very long roll that stretched across most of the width of the bed at the head of the bed. It was higher than my American pillow, so I didn't feel comfortable using it.
Name: E.E.D.,
Here are what our visitors have to say about bedtime rituals and getting to sleep.
Name: Couple, U.S.
Bedtime Ritual: We have traditionally played backgammon or cards to "unwind" from the faster pace of daytime activities before turning out the lights. Sometimes we read before sleeping.
Name: Middle-aged woman, U.S.
Bedtime Ritual: It was good that my parents made all the children get to bed early on school nights (always by 9 p.m.) so we'd be alert enough for learning in school the next day, but I often used to read stories under the bedcovers with a flashlight. They wouldn't let me watch scary t.v. shows or movies before bedtime, since that always gave me insomnia or nightmares. My parents had a double bed, and I remember they disagreed about whether or not to use a fan to cool off the room, or whether the noise would be more annoying than the heat. There were 4 girls and 1 boy, so my brother had his own room and the older two and younger two girls shared the other 2 children's rooms growing up. I also almost always had a hamster cage in my bedroom with the wheel squeaking all night long, which often irritated my sister. I liked it best when our dog slept curled up against the back of my legs which kept me warm.