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Global sleep rate variations and the importance of getting eight hours

The sleepiest city is Buenos Aires, Argentina, with citizens sleeping ten hours a night on average.

The passengers on the bus go ZZZ on Hong Kong nowhere route
Passengers on the five-hour bus journey either use it to take in some of the sights of Hong Kong or get some much-needed sleep - Copyright AFP Bertha WANG
Passengers on the five-hour bus journey either use it to take in some of the sights of Hong Kong or get some much-needed sleep - Copyright AFP Bertha WANG

Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night in order help the brain and body function properly, according to the medical consensus (an example of a meta-review is provided here).

Not getting sufficient sleep causes ill-health effects. For example, a lack of sleep can contribute to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Other potential problems include obesity, depression, impairment in immunity and lower sex drive.

If the body is not getting enough sleep, or even too much sleep, this can carry negative consequences on a person’s mental health. Side effects include lack of concentration, changes in mood, disorientation, and bad memory.

The body can also be affected due to sleep deprivation. Changes to the Appearance

include dark under-eye circles, a breakout of spots and puffy skin. Headaches are also common, as well as Increased weight gain, weakened immune system and a lowered libido.

Sleep patterns vary internationally and a report issued by the online landing learning platform Preply finds which countries get the least amount of sleep a night, as well as the countries that get the most.

The city that gets the least amount of sleep a night was found to be Berlin, Germany, with an average of six hours a night, or one hour under the daily recommended. Manila, Philippines comes in second place, with just 6.3 hours of sleep a night. This is followed by Seoul, Korea at 6.4.

In contrast, coming in as the sleepiest city, is Buenos Aires, Argentina, with citizens sleeping ten hours a night on average, one hour over the daily recommended. Following this comes Mexico City, Mexico and Beijing, China, both average in at nine hours a night.

One reason for lack of sleep is insufficient time and in many cases this correlates with working hours. The same report by Preply also discovered which cities around the work the longest hours.

Coming in a number one, as the city which works the most hours is Hanoi, Vietnam, with citizens working on average 2,691 hours, or 10.5 hours a day. Behind Hanoi are  Mexico City, Mexico came in second place as the city which work the longest hours, 2,622 in total for the year.

On the other side, there is Stockholm, Sweden, which work the fewest hours of the year, an average of 1,424. This is followed by Luxembourg, Luxembourg which work on average 1,427.

London, UK is positioned in the middle with average working hours equating to 2,003 hours a year. Such information not only provides an interesting global comparator, it provides data that health policy makers can utilise.

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Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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