What are the common misunderstandings about catching up on sleep at the weekend?
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Sleeping in at the weekend to make up for a short working week is a recurring topic on Q&A sites in every country. Japan is one of the shortest-sleeping countries in international comparisons, so interest in "stocking up" on sleep is high. If you live here you will hear the word for it: *nedame* (寝だめ). Here is what Japan's official sleep guidance actually says.
In numbers
- The MHLW "Sleep Guide for Health Promotion 2023" (健康づくりのための睡眠ガイド2023) gives adults a benchmark of 6 hours or more and recommends not shifting your weekend wake-up time far from weekdays. A large gap between the mid-point of weekday sleep and weekend sleep is called social jet lag.
- In the OECD time-use data (2021), Japan's average sleep time was 7 hours 22 minutes, the shortest among the countries covered.
- In the National Health and Nutrition Survey (国民健康・栄養調査, Japan's annual government health survey), the share of adults averaging under 6 hours of sleep a day has stayed at around 40%.
| Weekday sleep | What to do at the weekend (spirit of the guide) |
|---|---|
| Under 6 hours, night after night | Look for ways to lengthen weekday sleep. Catching up at the weekend only goes so far |
| Getting up 2 hours or more later than on weekdays | Social jet lag. Leads to Monday sleepiness and sluggishness |
| Topping up with a nap | Early afternoon, 30 minutes or less as a guide |
[Verify] Check the wording of the Sleep Guide 2023 and the latest year's percentage in the National Health and Nutrition Survey. The OECD figure is the time-use data in the "Gender Data Portal 2021".
Misunderstanding 1｜You can bank sleep
You can partly "repay" a deficit afterwards, but sleeping extra in advance is generally described as almost impossible. The basis is to get the right amount every day.
Misunderstanding 2｜Sleeping until noon at the weekend is rest
If you get up late, the time you first see morning light is also late, and the body clock drifts later. That is a common reason for not being able to sleep on Sunday night and struggling on Monday.
Misunderstanding 3｜Going to bed earlier is the same thing
The body clock is generally described as being set mainly by wake-up time and morning light. Fix your wake-up time, and go to bed earlier if you are sleepy. That follows the guide's approach more closely.
Misunderstanding 4｜If you cannot catch up at the weekend, there is nothing you can do
The guide mentions a nap of 30 minutes or less in the early afternoon as a way to deal with sleepiness. Long naps, or naps after late afternoon, interfere with night-time sleep.
Misunderstanding 5｜Japanese people sleep less because of their constitution
International differences in sleep time are generally attributed largely to working hours, commuting time and daily habits. Seeing it as a matter of environment, not constitution, makes the solutions easier to see.
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Sources
- MHLW, "Sleep Guide for Health Promotion 2023" [健康づくりのための睡眠ガイド2023]
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10904750/001181265.pdf
- MHLW, "Outline of Results of the 2023 National Health and Nutrition Survey" [令和5年 国民健康・栄養調査結果の概要] (distribution of sleep time)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_47433.html
- OECD Gender Data Portal, "Time use across the world"
https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecd-gender-data-portal.html
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
This article is not meant to diagnose or manage any specific medical condition. If you are worried about your health, see a doctor rather than relying on your own judgement.
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