“Sleep time is eroded from year to year,” says the director of the medical sleep institute

On average, French people sleep 6 hours 42 minutes per night, with a loss of 15 minutes of sleep in one year and 1 hour 30 minutes in thirty years. “We have become a hyperactive society. Sleep time is eroded from year to year”assures Jonathan Taïeb, sleep specialist, director of the medical sleep institute, guest of 12/13 info, Friday March 15. “We have seen an explosion in sleep disorders since Covid. Sleep disorders are very linked to anxiety, we are in an anxious society today”he adds.

80% of the population needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep

“A good sleeper is someone who will wake up in the morning with the impression of having been repaired on a physical level (…) and then who feels repaired psychologically”explains the doctor. “Sleep is an element of performance, an element of competitiveness (…) sleeping well ultimately means being efficient”develops Jonathan Taïeb who reminds us that we are “unequal when it comes to sleep”.

“It’s genetically determined, you have 10% of the population who will be short sleepers, who will need less than 6 hours (…) for 80% of the population, we get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep”, specifies the director of the medical sleep institute. He concludes by saying that regularity in waking up times is important for sleeping well.