Getting more sleep among aims of government health plan

TOKYO, Apr 20 (The Japan News) - The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will set a goal for 60% of the people in Japan to get sufficient sleep, defined as between six to eight or nine hours depending on age, by fiscal 2032.

This target will be included in the ministry’s next national health promotion plan, Health Japan 21, which will begin in the fiscal year starting April 2024.

Health Japan 21 aims to promote the prolonging of years of healthy life through numerical targets for prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, diet and exercise. The upcoming plan, which is the third version of the ministry’s health promotion measures since 2000, is expected to set about 50 goals and likely to be decided in June.

Behind the sleep goal are the results of recent studies in which lack of sleep has connections to mental and physical disorders.

The average amount of sleep in Japan is shorter than it is overseas. Men in Japan average 7 hours 52 minutes and women in the nation average 7 hours 33 minutes. The ministry aims to increase the percentage of people who get enough sleep time by 5 percentage points from the current level. ...continue reading

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