THE world’s best sleepers are those living in Finland, new research suggests.
Residents in the country, known as the happiest on Earth, get a solid eight hours every night, researchers found.
The Finnish were closely followed by the French, who manage a dreamy average of seven hours and 45 minutes.
And the UK stole bronze, with seven hours and 44 minutes.
On the other end of the spectrum, people in Japan scrape by on an average of just six hours and 51 minutes.
Scientists in Korea and the UK looked at the sleep patterns of 30,082 people across 11 countries.
Using smartwatches and surveys, they monitored participants over a four-year period between 2014 and 2017.
Results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, revealed that people nodded off at around midnight and woke up at 7.42am, on average.
But the amount of sleep they actually got varied between nations.
Finland locals, who the World Happiness Report says are the jolliest on the planet, came out top, averaging eight ours and one minute of sleep between 11.43pm and 7.43am.
Those in France scored second, with seven hours and 45 minutes between 12.06am and 7.53am, and the UK ranked third with one minute less between 11.52pm and 7.38am.
Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Austria, the United States and Spain were all somewhere in the middle.
And Japanese folk only managed an average of six hours and 51 minutes of kip per night.
They also had the latest sleep time of 12.42am, and a rising time of 7.38am.
The teams at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Nokia Bell Labs said those in wealthier countries appeared to get the least amount of shut-eye.
This, they said, could be down to longer working hours, a stricter work schedule and better access to technology and entertainment.
But Daniele Quercia, head of social dynamics at Nokia Bell Labs, reckons it could also be down to people in countries like Spain and Japan having more family obligations in the evening.
She said: “Excessive work schedules, long working hours, and late bedtimes in high-income countries and social engagement due to high collectivism may cause bedtimes to be delayed.”
The study also found that those who exercised more frequently and had higher daily step counts had better quality sleep, particularly in the US and Finland.
This usually meant they fell asleep faster and spent less time awake during the night.
