Are the French insomniacs?

According to the French public health agency publication “Baromètre” of last month, the average amount of sleep of the French has sunk below the recommended threshold of 7 hours.

In France, people get an average of 6h42min sleep per night, i.e., less than the 7 hours usually recommended for fully recuperative rest. It’s the first time this measurement, initiated 15 years ago, has reported such a low value.

The French public health agency is particularly worried about the growing number of people getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night during the week. According to the “baromètre" results, this concerns over a third of young adults, who consequently have potentially greater risks developing obesity, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

The main factors to blame for this trend is more people working night shifts and having longer commutes to work. Screens are also high on the list of menaces to our sleep patterns, as they are often being used in bed before people go to sleep.