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By Matthew Tostevin
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People in Japan average only 6.23 hours of sleep per night, compared with 7.05 hours in the United States and 7.11 hours in New Zealand, according to new data shared with Newsweek by health-tracking ring maker Oura.
The study underlined how people’s origins and cultures may affect the amount of sleep they get, and that this doesn’t necessarily lead to poorer health. Other countries where people get less sleep include India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“While sleep is a biological process, it’s highly influenced by culture and environment. We see this clearly in countries that see shorter nightly average sleep,” said sleep scientist Heli Koskimäki, Head of Future Physiology at Oura.
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“In India, it’s common for family meals to delay bedtimes; Japan sees long work hours push sleep back later; and in the UAE extreme heat means people often exercise late at night or very early in the morning,” she told Newsweek.
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The data in the study came from people wearing rings that track their activity. In all the dozen countries for which data were available, a sample of 5,000 people was used to analyze sleep patterns.
The research indicates that countries with shorter sleep durations don't necessarily have worse health outcomes—in fact, Japan has a longer average life expectancy than any of the other countries in the study.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend that adults obtain seven or more hours of sleep per night to avoid the health risks of chronic inadequate sleep.
Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to an increased risk of developing dementia, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and possibly cancers of the breast, colon, ovaries and prostate, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. It can also affect the ability to function in daily life while working or driving.
Sleep Patterns Vary Across Cultures
“Sleep patterns actually vary quite a bit across cultures. Napping patterns (like siestas), work schedules, screen time, and attitudes toward rest all are strongly influenced by geographical and cultural norms,” Hamid Djalilian of the University of California told Newsweek.
“That said, human biology is fairly consistent. For most adults, the healthiest range appears to be about 7 to 8 hours per night. In large data sets, we see a clear U-shaped pattern in health outcomes, where both of the tails (less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours) is associated with higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, depression, cognitive decline, and even mortality.”
The Oura data showed significant variation in sleep duration globally, although all were within the range generally considered healthy.
"Sleep time is now viewed as less important as sleep quality and regularity. Irregular schedules, shift work, and “social jet lag” can disrupt circadian rhythms and increase health risk even if total sleep time looks adequate on paper," said Djalilian.
Different populations had different chronotypes—the biological inclination towards being a morning or evening person, Koskimäki said.
“The challenge these 'night owl nations' face is that modern society—work, school, family—often demand early rising, meaning sleep gets squeezed," she said.
"Crucially, the amount of sleep a person needs is both real and individual: it varies from person to person and changes throughout your life. Paying attention to your own chronotype, data about how you're sleeping over time and how rested you feel can help you build a consistent routine."
Eric Zhou, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, told Newsweek his recent research on U.S. adults using Samsung data showed an average sleep duration of 7.6 hours, but with a wide range between the 10th and 90th percentile of 6.5 to 8.9 hours. Researchers had not been able to tie the data to health outcomes, he said, with one issue being "social jetlag."
“Traditionally, we think of social jetlag (shifting weekday/weekend sleep schedules due to work/school/life) as associated with poorer outcomes because that person may not be getting enough sleep on weekdays, so catches up on weekends (not good), and creates circadian misalignment (not good). But Northern Europeans tended to sleep longer than Asians, which is suggestive of better health outcomes,” he said.
“All of this is to say that insufficient sleep is a global health epidemic, crossing all borders. In a day and age in which there are many competing interests for our attention in a 24-hour day, sleep is the least fun activity we can do, but perhaps the most beneficial.”
Updated on 05/13/2026 at 12.20 p.m. ET with further expert comment from
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