Large-scale data from wearables reveal regional disparities in sleep patterns that persist across age and sex.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Large observational cohort study using objective wearable sensor data.
PubMed 30833649 · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-40156-x
What was done
Authors analyzed objective sleep tracking data across 553,559 nights recorded by 23,680 Fitbit users aged 15–80 years to assess geographical, age, and sex differences in sleep duration and timing, specifically comparing Oceanian and East Asian users on weekdays and weekends.
What was found
East Asian users slept 32–43 minutes less than Oceanian users on weekdays, primarily driven by later bedtimes. Users in all countries extended sleep on weekends, but East Asian users continued to sleep less than Oceanian users. Women generally slept more than men, and older users slept less than younger users.
Why it matters
This study provides objective, large-scale biometric confirmation that regional disparities in sleep duration and timing exist independently of age and sex, moving beyond subjective self-report questionnaires.
Limits
Fitbit users represent a self-selected, non-representative sample. The abstract compares broad geographical regions without detailed country-specific data or adjustment for occupational, socioeconomic, or cultural confounding factors.
Cited by
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