Japan named most sleep-deprived country for fourth year in a row, according to survey

Look, I’m tired. Just think up your own lede for this, OK?

The other day, I was talking to someone I hallucinated about the importance of sleep. In these days, where the world never seems to stop moving, it can be hard to carve out the recommended seven to eight hours a day. We tend to think of this time as wasted, rather than as a crucial function of our body to maintain health.

It’s a problem medical equipment makers at ResMed work hard on, and as a way to gauge which countries need to understand this the most, they’ve been holding the Global Sleep Survey each year. This survey asks 30,000 people in 13 countries about their sleeping habits and knowledge, and for the fourth year in a row, Japan was found to sleep the worst.

Looking at the key factor of hours of sleep per night, Japan was the shortest on average, with only six hours and 23 minutes. There was some stiff competition this year, however, with the USA not too far behind, resting for six hours and 29 minutes, and the UK getting only two more minutes per night than them. Countries with the longest night’s rest were China, with seven hours and 14 minutes, and Brazil, clocking in at seven hours and seven minutes.

Japan also ranked dead last in terms of sleep knowledge, probably because everyone was too tired to learn about it. Just 63 percent of respondents in Japan knew that sleeping well can prolong life expectancy, the lowest of all participating countries, and well below the 84 percent average. People in Japan were also least aware that sleep deprivation can lead to conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

When Japanese respondents were asked what they did to help sleep better, the number one answer was “nothing”, at 38 percent. It was followed by a warm bath at 34 percent, which honestly feels more like a cop out, because that’s more of a custom than something done solely to get to sleep. When asked what sleep aids were used, the majority of Japanese respondents essentially said “Ummm…” at 57 percent, with “blackout curtains” in a distant second, at 20 percent.

If you think Japan’s famously grueling work culture is to blame, you might be correct. Only 26 percent of respondents in Japan said they felt their supervisors cared about their health, and 24 percent said their workplace put a priority on rest and recovery, nearly half the global average in both cases. In addition, 62 percent of people in Japan said they’ve never taken a day off work due to fatigue, more than double the global average of 30 percent.

▼ You haven’t truly lived in Japan until you’ve napped on a toilet at work.

The one area where Japan is leading the world in is the ominously named “sleep divorce,” with 57 percent saying they sleep in different beds than their significant other. Studies suggest that this habit can result in higher quality of sleep, but ResMed warns that sleeping alone also means no one can pick up on possible symptoms of disorders like sleep apnea syndrome that could lead to more serious health problems.

Suffice it to say, the people least surprised by these results were the people of Japan. In comments about the news, a majority felt that overwork was the main cause, while others felt the sheer amount of addictive entertainment may be partly to blame for it all.

“Go to bed!”
“We have the longest working hours in the world too, so this is no shock.”
“I think everyone is on edge here because they can’t get enough sleep.”
“It wouldn’t be this way if we could get home before sunset.”
“I get home at the same time, but I’m having trouble falling asleep. My sleep time is decreasing each year.”
“Everyone’s blaming work, but I bet most of you are staying up on your smartphones.”
“I feel pretty refreshed after six hours and 30 minutes.”
“We could work less hours, but that’s less money and a more difficult life.”
“If we sacrifice sleep, our work declines, and we need to work more, and we sleep less…”
“There’s too much good anime on late at night. I’m unemployed and still busy.”
“We are a nation of wasted effort.”
“I only sleep for about 5 hours a night and nap like a dolphin during the day.”

In case you’re not a marine biologist, dolphins literally sleep with one eye open all the time. Because they’d likely die from drowning or predators if they perfectly went to sleep, they can manage to just shut down half of their brain at a time to give it some rest. Quite frankly, that is a trick I would love to learn myself, and it could help a lot of other people in Japan by the looks of things.

Until we somehow master that art, ResMed suggests that the society and government of Japan view sleep deprivation not as a personal problem but something that everyone must tackle together as a people. And until that happens, it’s important to monitor your own health and well-being as best you can to ensure you don’t miss out on sleep like the people of Japan are known to do, but instead live a long life… like the people of Japan are known to do…

Hang on a sec…

Source: PR Times, My Game News Flash, Maidona News
Photos ©SoraNews24
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