Getting enough sleep is essential for overall health. But what really counts as “enough” sleep? Recent sleep studies, such as that carried out by the University of British Colombia, suggest that the amount of sleep you should be getting may depend on where you live.
We’ve all heard that we should aim to get eight hours of sleep a night to keep ourselves healthy, yet this one-size-fits-all-approach to sleep is undermined by recent findings which suggest that optimal sleep depends on geographical location and cultural norms.
Past studies have also found links between sleep health and geography, but the University of British Colombia study both confirms these findings and sheds greater light on them.
The study corroborates previous findings that people in Asian countries tend to sleep less than people in other locations, with Japanese sleepers averaging 6 hours and 18 minutes sleep a night. Western countries on the other hand, tend to sleep for longer, with French people averaging very close to the fabled ‘8 hours a night rule’, at 7 hours and 52 minutes.
But do countries with shorter sleep averages see poorer overall health? The survey suggests not.
The researchers did not notice any sign of poorer health in countries with lower sleep averages when compared to longer sleeping nations. Rather, they found that people who achieved closer to their country’s average amount of sleep tended to be healthier than those who regularly under- or overslept. They also found that most people tended to be sleeping at least one hour less than was optimal for their nation.
Influencing factors
But why do sleep averages vary so much across nations and continents? Why do Japanese people require less sleep to keep themselves healthy than their European or American counterparts? There are many possible explanations.
The first is cultural differences. Countries which place a higher emphasis on individualism, such as the USA, see a longer sleep average, while countries which place a higher emphasis on the collective good see shorter sleep averages.
This is often reflected in the variety of sleep patterns and habits across different nations, as well as duration. In Japan, for example, the practice of Inemuri (napping in public) is not only acceptable, but seen as a sign of conscientiousness, indicating that the person is working long and hard for the good of society. However, Mexico tends to make more of a ritual of bedtimes, with pre-sleep meditation and prayer being more common than elsewhere.
The second reason sleep averages vary so much may be due to climate. Norway, for example, where there are long stretches of the year where the sun barely sets, goes to bed later than other places, often after midnight. Climate also affects Southern European and Mediterranean nations, where midday siestas are a cultural norm in order to avoid the heat when the sun is at its fiercest.
Another common contributor to how long a country sleeps is stress. Nations which are undergoing periods of prolonged national stress, such as economic difficulties, natural disasters, conflict or political turmoil, tend to see a drop in the amount of sleep they get.
Conversely, comparatively stable countries tend to get more sleep. However, it is impossible to conclude whether this lack of sleep has an adverse effect on the besieged nation’s health, or whether any spike in poor health comes from factors unrelated to sleep duration, like a lack of medical care or changes in diet.
It is vital to consider cultural context when determining how much sleep a person should get. Though wherever a person is from, getting enough sleep is vital for good overall health, whatever “enough” may be.
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