Sleep recommendations should be based on countries' norms
The amount of sleep should be determined by countries' norms.
Researches from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, in Canada, say poeple should sleep the recommended amount of hours that has been recommended in their country.
The team's study - which involved 5,000 people, who completed an online questionnaire in 20 different countries acorss North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa - saw them analyse if life expectancy, rates of heart disease, obesity and diabetes were linked to how much sleep someone gets.
The experts' results showed there was a variation in how many hours of sleep the volunteers get across the 20 countries - with the French getting the longest amount of sleep (seven hours and 52 minutes), and the Japanese getting the shortest amount of kip (six hours and 18 minutes).
As a result, the psychologists found no evidence that people in countries who sleep less compared to those in other places where people sleep more had worse health.
Doctor Christine Ou, lead author and an assistant professor at Victoria's School of Nursing, told BBC Science Focus: "Sleep is shaped by more than just biology – it's influenced by culture, work schedules, climate, light exposure, social norms and other factors.
'What's considered 'enough' sleep in one country might feel too much or not enough in another.'
Keele University sleep psychologist Doctor Daljinder Chalmers - who was not involved in the study - said there is "no evidence" to back the claim that people should sleep for eight or more hours.
She told BBC Science Focus: "Sleep is really complex, and there's no evidence to support the idea that we should all sleep for eight hours per day.
'Our study found that people tend to be healthier when their sleep aligns with what's typical in their culture.
'Recognising cultural context can help people focus on what actually supports their health, rather than chasing a fixed number.
'When you're looking at sleep and health, you need to consider culture.'
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3 days ago
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Sleep recommendations should be based on countries' norms
The amount of sleep should be determined by countries' norms. Researches from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, in Canada, say poeple should sleep the recommended amount of hours that has been recommended in their country. The team's study - which involved 5,000 people, who completed an online questionnaire in 20 different countries acorss North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa - saw them analyse if life expectancy, rates of heart disease, obesity and diabetes were linked to how much sleep someone gets. The experts' results showed there was a variation in how many hours of sleep the volunteers get across the 20 countries - with the French getting the longest amount of sleep (seven hours and 52 minutes), and the Japanese getting the shortest amount of kip (six hours and 18 minutes). As a result, the psychologists found no evidence that people in countries who sleep less compared to those in other places where people sleep more had worse health. Doctor Christine Ou, lead author and an assistant professor at Victoria's School of Nursing, told BBC Science Focus: "Sleep is shaped by more than just biology – it's influenced by culture, work schedules, climate, light exposure, social norms and other factors. 'What's considered 'enough' sleep in one country might feel too much or not enough in another.' Keele University sleep psychologist Doctor Daljinder Chalmers - who was not involved in the study - said there is "no evidence" to back the claim that people should sleep for eight or more hours. She told BBC Science Focus: "Sleep is really complex, and there's no evidence to support the idea that we should all sleep for eight hours per day. 'Our study found that people tend to be healthier when their sleep aligns with what's typical in their culture. 'Recognising cultural context can help people focus on what actually supports their health, rather than chasing a fixed number. 'When you're looking at sleep and health, you need to consider culture.'
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Software remedies have been implemented, while the hardware design is mostly unchanged in Resilience, the company has said. Resilience was carrying a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and five external payloads, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. If the landing had been successful, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover would have begun 14 days of planned exploration activities, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Japan in 2024 became the world's fifth country to achieve a soft lunar landing after the former Soviet Union, the United States, China and India, when the national Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency achieved the touchdown of its SLIM lander, although in a toppled position. 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A successful mission would have made ispace the first company outside the US to achieve a moon landing. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander, could not decelerate fast enough as it approached the moon, and the company has not been able to communicate with the spacecraft after a likely hard landing, ispace said in a statement on Friday. The company's livestream of the attempted landing showed Resilience's flight data was lost less than two minutes before the planned touchdown time earlier on Friday. The lander had targeted Mare Frigoris, a basaltic plain about 900km from the moon's north pole, and was on an hour-long descent from lunar orbit. A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and government officials abruptly grew silent during a public viewing event at mission partner Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in the wee hours in Tokyo. In 2023, ispace's first lander crashed into the moon's surface due to inaccurate recognition of its altitude. 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Following the landing, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover were scheduled to begin 14-day exploration activities until the arrival of a freezing-cold lunar night, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Shares of ispace more than doubled earlier in 2025 on growing investor hopes for the second mission, before calming in recent days. As of Thursday, ispace had a market capitalisation of more than 110 billion yen ($A1.2 billion). Japanese company ispace has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander following its lunar touchdown attempt, two years after its failed inaugural mission. Tokyo-based ispace has hoped to join US firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, which have accomplished commercial landings amid an intensifying global race for the moon that includes state-run missions from China and India. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander, targeted Mare Frigoris, a basaltic plain about 900km from the moon's north pole. The company's live-streamed flight data showed Resilience's altitude suddenly falling to zero shortly before the planned touchdown time of 4.17am on Friday, Japanese time, following an hour-long descent from lunar orbit. "We haven't been able to confirm" communication, and control centre members will "continuously attempt to communicate with the lander," the company said in the broadcast. Footage from the control room showed nervous faces of ispace engineers. A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and government officials abruptly grew silent during a public viewing event at mission partner Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in the wee hours in Tokyo. The status of Resilience remains unclear, and ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada will hold a press conference about the outcome of the mission at 9am, the company said. In 2023, ispace's first lander crashed into the moon's surface due to inaccurate recognition of its altitude. Software remedies have been implemented, while the hardware design is mostly unchanged in Resilience, the company has said. Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and five external payloads, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. Following the landing, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover were scheduled to begin 14-day exploration activities until the arrival of a freezing-cold lunar night, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Shares of ispace more than doubled earlier in 2025 on growing investor hopes for the second mission, before calming in recent days. As of Thursday, ispace had a market capitalisation of more than 110 billion yen ($A1.2 billion). Japanese company ispace has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander following its lunar touchdown attempt, two years after its failed inaugural mission. Tokyo-based ispace has hoped to join US firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, which have accomplished commercial landings amid an intensifying global race for the moon that includes state-run missions from China and India. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander, targeted Mare Frigoris, a basaltic plain about 900km from the moon's north pole. The company's live-streamed flight data showed Resilience's altitude suddenly falling to zero shortly before the planned touchdown time of 4.17am on Friday, Japanese time, following an hour-long descent from lunar orbit. "We haven't been able to confirm" communication, and control centre members will "continuously attempt to communicate with the lander," the company said in the broadcast. Footage from the control room showed nervous faces of ispace engineers. A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and government officials abruptly grew silent during a public viewing event at mission partner Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in the wee hours in Tokyo. The status of Resilience remains unclear, and ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada will hold a press conference about the outcome of the mission at 9am, the company said. In 2023, ispace's first lander crashed into the moon's surface due to inaccurate recognition of its altitude. Software remedies have been implemented, while the hardware design is mostly unchanged in Resilience, the company has said. Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and five external payloads, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. Following the landing, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover were scheduled to begin 14-day exploration activities until the arrival of a freezing-cold lunar night, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Shares of ispace more than doubled earlier in 2025 on growing investor hopes for the second mission, before calming in recent days. As of Thursday, ispace had a market capitalisation of more than 110 billion yen ($A1.2 billion). Japanese company ispace has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander following its lunar touchdown attempt, two years after its failed inaugural mission. Tokyo-based ispace has hoped to join US firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace, which have accomplished commercial landings amid an intensifying global race for the moon that includes state-run missions from China and India. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander, targeted Mare Frigoris, a basaltic plain about 900km from the moon's north pole. The company's live-streamed flight data showed Resilience's altitude suddenly falling to zero shortly before the planned touchdown time of 4.17am on Friday, Japanese time, following an hour-long descent from lunar orbit. "We haven't been able to confirm" communication, and control centre members will "continuously attempt to communicate with the lander," the company said in the broadcast. Footage from the control room showed nervous faces of ispace engineers. A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and government officials abruptly grew silent during a public viewing event at mission partner Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in the wee hours in Tokyo. The status of Resilience remains unclear, and ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada will hold a press conference about the outcome of the mission at 9am, the company said. In 2023, ispace's first lander crashed into the moon's surface due to inaccurate recognition of its altitude. Software remedies have been implemented, while the hardware design is mostly unchanged in Resilience, the company has said. Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary and five external payloads, including scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. Following the landing, the 2.3m-high lander and the microwave-sized rover were scheduled to begin 14-day exploration activities until the arrival of a freezing-cold lunar night, including capturing images of regolith, the moon's fine-grained surface material, on a contract with US space agency NASA. Shares of ispace more than doubled earlier in 2025 on growing investor hopes for the second mission, before calming in recent days. As of Thursday, ispace had a market capitalisation of more than 110 billion yen ($A1.2 billion).
