Koreans Get Only 5 Hours 25 Minutes of Actual Sleep... "Half Are Night Owls"

Ahead of World Sleep Day on March 13, data analysis shows that over half of South Korean adults exhibit an “owl-type” lifestyle pattern, meaning they go to bed late. Not only is there a widespread lack of sleep, but the characteristics of a “late-sleeping society,” where circadian rhythms are delayed, have become particularly evident.

On March 10, sleep-tech company Asleep released the “2026 Korea Sleep Report,” which presents these findings. The report analyzes sleep data collected over approximately two years, from January 2024 to December 2025. The analysis was based on data from 370,774 users, covering a total of 5,562,192 measured days and an accumulated sleep time of 28,314,309 hours.

According to the report, Koreans spend an average of 6 hours and 39 minutes lying in bed, but their actual sleep time is only 5 hours and 25 minutes. This means that more than one hour in bed is spent either awake or waking up in the middle of the night. Compared to the recommended sleep duration of 7 to 8 hours, the actual sleep time falls significantly short.

The quality of sleep was also found to be poor. The average sleep efficiency among Koreans was 82%, which is around 8% lower than the recommended level. The average time spent awake during sleep was 39 minutes, and the average social jetlag was 33 minutes. The analysis suggests that “sleep fragmentation,” where sleep is frequently interrupted during the night, is widespread.

The chronotype analysis, which measures circadian rhythm patterns, revealed that the proportion of evening types-or “owl-types”-was 56.2%. Intermediate types accounted for 34.5%, while morning types made up just 9.3%. Considering that the global proportion of evening types is generally around 20-30%, this suggests that Korean society is structurally shifting toward later bedtimes.

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Bedtimes in Korea are also later than in other major countries. The average sleep onset time for Koreans was 12:51 a.m., later than the averages in the United States (12:24 a.m.), Asia (12:26 a.m.), and Europe (12:27 a.m.).

The time at which people fall asleep has a direct impact on sleep quality. When individuals fell asleep between 11 p.m. and midnight, sleep efficiency was highest at 83.8%. However, if they fell asleep after 3 a.m., sleep efficiency dropped to 76.2%. This means that the later one falls asleep, the more sharply sleep efficiency declines, making it difficult for the body to fully recover even if the total sleep time is the same.

By age group, the trend toward “owl-type” sleep was especially pronounced among teenagers and young adults. The proportion of evening types was highest among teenagers at 85.2%, but dropped to 37.8% among those in their 60s and older. While circadian rhythms tend to shift earlier with age, late bedtimes have become almost routine among adolescents and young adults.

Dongheon Lee, CEO of Asleep, stated, “The sleep issues facing Korean society are complex, with late bedtimes, sleep deprivation, and sleep fragmentation occurring simultaneously. Sleep should be addressed not as a matter of individual willpower, but from a public health perspective.” He added, “Even with the same amount of sleep, the quality can vary greatly depending on when you fall asleep. Korean society needs to recover not only sleep duration but also sleep timing.”

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