- EXPLORE FURTHER: Photos show the effects of not getting sufficient rest on your physical health
Regardless of whether you're an early riser or struggle to get out of bed, everybody understands the significance of getting quality shut-eye each night.
Currently, researchers have disclosed which nations are enjoying the highest levels of rest.
Based on a study involving 5,000 individuals across 20 nations, the United Kingdom ranks as the globe’s fifth most sleepy country, with participants averaging seven hours and 33 minutes of sleep per night.
But it is France That positions itself at the pinnacle as the globe’s most well-rested country, where the typical French person sleeps for an average of seven hours and fifty-two minutes.
At the very bottom of the sleep league table lies Japan where the typical person nods off for merely six hours and 17 minutes.
This indicates that the typical Japanese person sleeps for over one and a half hours less each day compared to someone from France, which adds up to more than 40 hours of lost sleep in a month.
Nevertheless, even though lacking sleep may cause various health issues, the study revealed that nations with fewer hours of sleep didn’t necessarily exhibit poorer health outcomes.
Professor Steven Heine, from the University of British Columbia and the senior author, states, "There isn't a single universal quantity of sleep that suits everybody."
Even though physicians typically suggest eight hours of rest each night, Professor Heine and his team discovered that the amount of time people spend sleeping differs considerably across different nations.
When queried about their amount of sleep from the previous night, people from European and Australian nations generally reported being more well-rested.
Coming in right after France, individuals in the Netherlands claimed to get the second highest amount of sleep per night, averaging around seven hours and 45 minutes.
This was soon after matched by Belgium and New Zealand, with their residents noting they slept for seven hours and 41 minutes and seven hours and 40 minutes correspondingly.
In contrast, individuals from Asian nations mentioned getting much less sleep duration.
In Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore, individuals mentioned getting an average of under seven hours of sleep per night.
The most significant deviation was seen in the US, where inhabitants get only an average of seven hours and two minutes of sleep each night.
This places America beneath both China and India in terms of hours slept.
The surprising part was that nations with residents sleeping fewer hours did not seem to exhibit poorer health.
Despite some Asian nations getting only six hours of sleep daily instead of the suggested eight hours, there has been no indication of reduced lifespan or increased occurrences of heart disease and diabetes.
Interestingly, the study also found that nations getting less sleep were often associated with lower levels of obesity.
As per the research documented in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences This implies that the amount of sleep required could be influenced more by cultural factors than biological ones.
Prior research tried to account for these variations by pointing to a biological distinction among different ethnic groups.
However, as the researchers indicate, comparing Japanese and Asian-Canadian students revealed that ethnicity was not an indicator of sleep requirements or the number of hours slept.
Dr Christine Ou, from the University of Victoria, states: "Individuals whose sleep patterns align more closely with their cultural standards for sleep duration generally exhibit better overall health."
This implies that the perfect quantity of sleep is the amount that aligns with what is deemed suitable sleep within one’s cultural context.
For instance, the researchers point out that France boasts a cultural emphasis on the advantages of getting ample sleep.
On the contrary, Japanese culture frequently emphasizes the significance of dedication and exertion, and prioritizes shorter sleep durations.
This has even resulted in a phenomenon known as 'inemuri', or 'sleeping while present' , where employees nod off at their workstations or in public spaces because of extreme fatigue.
Nevertheless, these short power naps can indeed be viewed as an encouraging indicator of diligent effort instead of idleness.
The researchers argue that these cultural differences might lead to real medical differences in how much people from different countries should sleep.
This could also be an aspect that healthcare providers should consider when formulating public health guidelines about sleep.
Professor Heine states: "Even though most people advise getting eight hours of sleep, our research indicates that sleep guidelines should be tailored according to different cultural practices."
Read more