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Social dimensions impact individual sleep quantity and quality.
Sungkyu Park1,2, Assem Zhunis2,3, Marios Constantinides4
1Department of AI Convergence, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea.
Scientific Reports
|June 15, 2023
Summary
Societal factors significantly influence sleep quantity and quality, impacting overall health and productivity. Individual sleep patterns are further shaped by lifestyle choices like exercise within these societal contexts.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Sleep Science
- Digital Health
Background:
- Sleep is crucial for well-being, health, and productivity.
- Societal influences on sleep patterns are not well understood.
- Wearable devices offer novel insights into objective sleep metrics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of societal factors on sleep quantity and quality using wearable device data.
- To investigate the relationship between country-specific metrics and sleep characteristics.
- To explore individual sleep variations within societal contexts.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 52 million activity records from 30,082 individuals across 11 countries.
- Comparison of wearable device data with self-reported sleep metrics.
- Statistical modeling to assess the influence of societal factors (e.g., GDP, cultural indices) and exercise on sleep.
Main Results:
- Societal factors explain 55% of the variation in sleep quality and 63% in sleep quantity.
- Wearable data revealed discrepancies between recorded and self-reported sleep.
- Increased physical activity (exercise, daily steps) correlated with improved sleep quality, particularly in countries like the U.S. and Finland.
Conclusions:
- Societal factors are major determinants of population-level sleep quantity and quality.
- Individual sleep experiences are modulated by lifestyle factors within broader societal norms.
- Findings can inform policies to leverage sleep's benefits for public health and productivity.
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