Before delving further, it’s essential to clarify how this all connects to the animal kingdom. After studying your sleep patterns for approximately seven nights, the Samsung Health app employs an inventive system to characterize you as an archetypal animal. For example, about one-third of us fall into the category of nervous penguins, characterized by poor awake times. Cautious deer, who sleep approximately 10 minutes and flee when anxious, become increasingly common with age. Due to the immense scale of this study, which involved hundreds of millions of nights of sleep and billions of data points, Samsung was able to delve deeply into demographic variations, considering factors like age, gender, and geographical location.
Individuals in their twenties are more likely to be classified as hedgehogs, signifying nighttime activity. In contrast, those in their fifties and sixties tend to become penguins, indicating sporadic sleep patterns.
The importance of sleep was emphasized by Demi Bagby, a CrossFit athlete, bodybuilder, and member of Team Galaxy, who called it crucial for her performance, agility, and reaction time. Interestingly, Samsung’s study found a greater gap between the amount of sleep needed and the amount we actually get, particularly among women. In general, most people do not obtain enough sleep, and the data reveals that sleep duration and efficiency are on the decline. Globally, sleep duration decreased to just under seven hours, down from an average of seven hours and three minutes to six hours and fifty-nine minutes over the past year. While it might seem like a mere four-minute difference, these minutes are vital for our health and performance, as highlighted by Demi Bagby. Additionally, awake time during sleep has increased by 1.3 minutes per night, reducing the efficiency of our time spent in bed. This discrepancy between the ideal amount of sleep and actual sleep is referred to as “Sleep Debt.”
