People who sleep the most are in Eastern European countries such as Albania, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic, reporting an extra 20-40 minutes of sleep per night, and the least in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. People in the United Kingdom reported sleeping less than average, while people who tended to sleep less were countries closer to the Equator.
Sleep duration decreases with age from age 33 to age 53, according to Nature Communications.
Researchers , led by Professor Hugo Spiers and Dr. Antoine Coutrot found that according to the study sample, people sleep an average of 7.01 hours a night, while women sleep an average of 7.5 minutes more than men.
Previous studies have found links between age and sleep duration, but this is the first larger study to identify these distinct stages across the lifespan. It found that across the globe, people sleep less during adulthood, but average sleep duration varies between regions and countries.
The researchers found that people aged 54-70 had an optimal sleep duration of around seven hours, although sleep in the elderly can also be affected by health conditions.