The Japanese sleep less than all, to the French the record of Dormiglioni: because the « ideal » amount of sleep varies from country to country

There right quantity of sleep It depends onagefrom the type and also in part by the individual circadian watchbut it can also depend on culture, therefore on the country of origin.
The scientists of the University of British Columbiawho investigated the relationship between cultures and sleep and between shorter sleep and health.

The ranking

The analysis, the results of which were Published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)was made on the duration of the rest of almost 5,000 people inhabitants in 20 countries (Between North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America) and revealed that the hours of sleep necessary for good health varied significantly between different cultures.

For example, the average in Japan It was 6 hours and 18 minutes, the country where you sleep lesswhile in France It was 7 hours and 52 minutes, country (among those considered) where you sleep moreover.
Most countries (See table below) It is placed Between 7 hours and 7 hours and 30 minutes; Above this share, in addition to France, Belgium, Holland, New Zealand, South Africa and UK are; Below 7 hours, in addition to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are.

Health and cultural context

Subsequently, the scholars wondered whether to sleep less (in the countries where you do it) was on average associated with health problems: « The people who slept the amount of hours more adherent to the rules of their culture tended to have better general health, » said Dr. Christine Ou, a professor at the faculty of nursing at the University of Virginia and the main author of the study. «This suggests that The ideal quantity of sleep is the one that corresponds to that considered appropriate in one’s own Cultural context, « he concluded.

Research therefore suggests that public health guidelines should be adapted to the cultural rules of the different populations to promote better results in terms of health.
The study is observational and not conclusive, however it does not contradict the fact that sleep a few hours is harmful for health; In fact, the average of hours of sleep in most of the countries examined (also very different from a cultural point of view) was however (as written) between 7 hours and 7 hours and 30 minutes with only Japan under 6 and a half hours, therefore mostly in line with the current guidelines on sleep hygiene.

How much to sleep in the various ages

The optimal amount of hours for health exists and concerns the minimum hours of sleep necessary for the normal functioning of body and mind. As anticipated, sleep is not the same for everyone, the differences are of age, gender and subjective.

For most of the adults sleep well is equivalent to 7/8 hours per night (even if there are i short dormitoriesthose who after 4/5 hours wake up rested and seem to be a genetic factor).

Just above, the table with the hours of sleep needed in the various stages of life: In general, babies must sleep a lot, but they wake up at any time, teenagers would never want to go to bed, the elderly struggle to rest.
Sleep patterns change over time and gender is also important, with Women who tend to sleep less Of the peers since adolescence, they suffer more often than insomnia and dream less.