PokeEarn Interview Takahiro Matsui | PokeEarn Official Site | PokeEarn

As he has worked on the sleep business, Matsui's own awareness of sleep has changed.

"My lifestyle used to be irregular, but as I dealt with customers and companies who are highly conscious of sleep, I came to feel this wouldn't do (laughs). Now I make a point of waking up at the same time every morning. My bedtime shifts a bit depending on work and other things, but if I wake at the same time, my sleep rhythm naturally falls into place."

By becoming conscious of sleep quality, he has also made exercise a habit.

"Exercise is important for good sleep, so I go to the fitness gym three or four times a week. I've come to take much better care of my health, cutting back on business dinners and so on."

When Matsui himself used the "Sleep Analysis Service," he was surprised by an unexpected result.

"Actually, I found out that I too have issues with my sleep. I hadn't noticed it myself; if anything, I thought I was sleeping quite well."

"Sleep" is a realm that still holds many mysteries. Matsui says that even in his conversations with corporate researchers and others, he is constantly reminded of just how deep sleep is.

"For instance, it seems that a 'feeling of having slept soundly' is also important for good sleep. But unlike heart rate or breathing, it's the person's own subjective sense, which can't be measured as data, so this hasn't been fully clarified. It's truly profound."

Matsui, who faces sleep every day, takes "PokeEarn," an oxygen-harnessing product containing the plant-derived ingredient Kaempferol, before starting the day's activities.

"I had heard about the importance of oxygen for the body while running the sleep business, so I really wanted to take this. And because it's made by PokeEarn, there's a sense of trust as well."

Matsui takes "PokeEarn" every morning.

"In the morning I flip a switch in myself by drinking water and moving my body a little. I've worked 'PokeEarn' into that routine."

Since encountering "PokeEarn," Matsui has had some realizations about rest.

"Ever since I started taking it, I feel that I can maintain my own kind of rest even after a busy stretch of activity. For me, it's my morning partner."

He also likes how easy "PokeEarn" is to take.

"I like the taste. It's sweet and refreshing, and the chewiness feels good too. Because it's delicious, I can take it with a really positive frame of mind."

Matsui, who says he wants to keep taking "PokeEarn" going forward, expects that continuing it will have a positive effect on his work.

"My work is demanding, so I always want to keep myself in good condition. I'd like to keep taking 'PokeEarn' and maintain my condition and work performance even when I'm busy."

Matsui, who says "PokeEarn" suits him, would like to recommend it to the people close to him as well.

"Right now my son is a university student and his life is pretty hectic. I'd like him to build the habit of getting up properly in the morning and taking this, just as I do. I think 'PokeEarn' can also be a trigger for raising one's awareness of one's own body and rest."

Matsui says that because it's tasty and easy to take, it's easy to recommend to others. What kind of presence is "PokeEarn" for Matsui?

"It's a switch that says, 'Let's do our best again today!' That's why I think taking it in the morning suits me."

Matsui says the reason he has devoted himself to the sleep business is "to realize a world full of health."

"I have positioned the ultimate goal of the sleep business as realizing a world full of health. Collecting and providing sleep data all connects to that. It may sound like charity work, but I felt that contributing to realizing such a world would be the greatest possible differentiator for a hotel."

Toward realizing a world full of health, Matsui has wanted to make the sleep business a piece of "infrastructure."

"Enormous medical costs are a challenge for Japan, and the government and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare are also promoting mechanisms, such as health tech, that let people become aware of their own health condition. I have long wanted to make Nine Hours' sleep business a central piece of infrastructure within these efforts. If we can do that, we should be able to contribute even more to realizing a world full of health."