Statistics Korea Releases 'Time Use Survey Results'
Proportion of People Unable to Sleep Rises by 4.6 Percentage Points
The amount of sleep among South Koreans has decreased. Notably, this marks the first decline in sleep time since related statistics began to be compiled in 1999, and the proportion of people across all age groups who are unable to sleep properly has increased. As media usage time has risen significantly, a considerable number of people now spend more than a quarter of their weekend time watching media.
According to the "2024 Time Use Survey Results" released by Statistics Korea on the 28th, the average daily sleep time for citizens aged 10 and older was 8 hours and 4 minutes, which is 8 minutes less than five years ago.
This is the first time sleep time has decreased since the relevant survey began in 1999. Sleep duration had increased with each survey since 1999 (7 hours 47 minutes), reaching a peak in 2019 (8 hours 12 minutes).
On weekdays, people slept for 7 hours and 45 minutes, which is shorter than on Saturdays (8 hours 31 minutes) and Sundays (8 hours 49 minutes). The average bedtime was 11:28 p.m., which is 4 minutes later than before. The average wake-up time was 6:59 a.m., which is 9 minutes earlier.
The proportion of people who were unable to sleep was 11.9%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points. This figure rose by 1.9 to 6.1 percentage points across all age groups. On average, these individuals spent 32 minutes unable to sleep.
The proportion of people who ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner was 63.7%, 85.6%, and 78.3%, respectively, all of which decreased. In contrast, the proportion of people eating alone increased for all three meals. In particular, the proportion of people eating breakfast alone rose by 2.0 percentage points to 41.7%.
The time spent on leisure activities such as media use, sports, and socializing increased by 21 minutes to 5 hours and 8 minutes. In particular, time spent using media?including reading, broadcasting, video, and the internet?rose by 17 minutes to 2 hours and 43 minutes.
Media usage accounted for the largest share of leisure time across all age groups.Among those in their 30s and older, it accounted for more than 50% of leisure time.
On Sundays, 93.4% of people engaged in leisure activities using media for at least 10 minutes a day.Their average media usage was 3 hours and 41 minutes, meaning they spent more than a quarter of the day on media.
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