60 years ago, eight hours of sleep was the norm. Now less than seven is the most common. And this accumulated sleep debt is a symptom of a big problem. No country in the world manages to reach 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis, according to data from Sleep Cycle. This is alarming for many reasons. The main one, because an adult must sleep 7 to 9 hours a night to be healthy. And hardly anyone does.
Yes, sleep has become a luxury good. An unattainable practice reserved for a few. Saying it is easy, but it is not so easy when we have to work more than nine hours a day, take care of the family, do housework and of course find free time to do whatever we want, be it going to the gym or to the movies. . Everyday life leaves us with very little room to sleep.
This trend is also worrying because sleep is essential for health. Many people underestimate its importance. And doing so causes many problems and illnesses, such as a weakened immune system, depression, weight gain, an increased chance of high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart attacks. And above all, memory problems. In addition, you get irritability, bad temper and negative mood, as well as a drop in productivity.
If you go around the world and ask the different populations how much they sleep, it is very likely that the majority will tell you that less than seven. These maps published by Public Health Maps and developed by Landgeist with data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Sleep Cycle measure the average number of hours that Europeans, Asians and Americans sleep. As can be seen, the downward trend is remarkable.
If we look at the map of Europe, we see that most Europeans sleep at least 7 hours. With the exception of Turkey, which is just below (6:50 am). Those who rest the most are the Finns and the Dutch, with 7:37 hours of sleep. Ireland and the United Kingdom are not far behind: 7:30 and 7:33. And the Spanish? Touching the limit, as always: 7:13 am, the same as Bulgaria and Romania.
On the map of the United States we see a somewhat different pattern. The North Americans they sleep an average of 7:19 hours. Good for them, they rest the recommended hours, at least. A clear difference can be seen between the east and west of the country. They sleep somewhat more in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and parts of Alaska. In contrast, in Hawaii, Kentucky, Tennessee or West Virginia things go down.
Population density could be an important factor, but so could an unhealthy lifestyle and diet.
Asia is a world apart. If Europe only had one country that couldn’t get enough sleep, in Asia only one does. China is the only country where people sleep more than 7 hours. Hong Kong and Thailand are close to 7 hours of sleep, but not quite there. This could be because most cities are much more populated and also tend to be much noisier, which can disrupt sleep. The tropical climate in Southeast Asia doesn’t help either.
Japan and South Korea are the countries that sleep the least. Both less than 6:30 hours. One cause could be the work culture they have. In both countries it is very common to work overtime, we have discussed it in detail at Magnet. They have a culture of discipline and excellence. And everything points to overwork as the culprit of an insomniac society. In fact, there is a Japanese term Karoshi meaning “death from overwork”. The problem is so serious that the Japanese government is promoting reducing working hours or napping at the office.
As we have told before, It is not clear what function sleep has, so it is very difficult to recommend a specific number of hours. However, and although it is complicated, in this article we try to create a frame of reference With the different opinions of the experts, we can find a series of indicative ranges that vary with age.
/ | recommendable | Acceptable | Not recommendable |
---|---|---|---|
Babies (1 and 2 years) | 11 – 14 hours | 9 – 16 hours | less than 9 and more than 16 |
Preschoolers (3-5) | 10 – 13 hours | 8 – 14 hours | less than 8 and more than 14 |
Children (6-13) | 9 – 11 hours | 7 – 12 hours | less than 7 and more than 12 |
Teenagers (14-17) | 8 – 10 hours | 7 – 11 hours | less than 7 and more than 11 |
Youth (18-25) | 7 – 9 hours | 6 – 11 hours | less than 6 and more than 11 |
Adults | 7 – 9 hours | 6 – 10 hours | less than 6 and more than 10 |
seniors | 7 – 8 hours | 5 – 9 hours | less than 5 and more than 9 |
Also at Magnet we have discussed what sleep hygiene is about and what factors can improve the quality of our rest. For example, have a set routine, try to exercise regularly, do not use electronic devices at least half an hour before going to bed, minimize noise and light interruptions in the room and optimize its temperature. Experts also recommend not to overdo naps and not to eat too much before bedtime.