Healthy sleep durations appear to vary across cultures

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dc.contributor.authorOu, Christine
dc.contributor.authorLou, Nigel Mantou
dc.contributor.authorMaheshka, Charoul
dc.contributor.authorShi, Marc
dc.contributor.authorTakemura, Kosuke
dc.contributor.authorCheung, Benjamin
dc.contributor.authorHeine, Steven J.
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-07T17:31:17Z
dc.date.available2026-05-07T17:31:17Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractPast research finds that sleep duration is reliably linked with health yet sleep durations differ substantially between countries. We investigated whether countries with shorter sleep durations have worse health. Study 1 analyzed national sleep durations from 14 past investigations (k = 353) and found that they were not associated with national health. Study 2 collected sleep duration and health data from people from 20 different countries (N = 4,933). Average sleep durations varied substantially between countries (range = 1.57 h). A quadratic relation between sleep duration and health was found in all countries, although the turning points varied between countries. Individuals whose sleep duration was closer to their country’s perceived ideal reported better health. The results suggest that the amount of sleep associated with optimal health varies across countries.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant #435-2019-0480 (S.J.H.)
dc.identifier.citationOu, C., Lou, N. M., Maheshka, C., Shi, M., Takemura, K., Cheung, B., & Heine, S. J. Healthy sleep durations appear to vary across cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(19). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2419269122
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2419269122
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/23830
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
dc.rightsCC BY-NC-ND
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectSexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Aspiration Research Cluster
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Nursing
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Psychology
dc.titleHealthy sleep durations appear to vary across cultures
dc.typeArticle

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