How India Sleeps - 2025: 59% Indians surveyed get less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep; Only half of them able to get some additional sleep on weekends

March 8, 2025, New Delhi: The World Sleep Day on March 15th serves as a reminder of the importance of good sleep. People who have interrupted sleep tend not to get enough overall sleep. Research has found a strong correlation between sleep continuity and total sleep time, indicating that people with disturbed sleep are at a higher risk of not sleeping enough hours. Insufficient sleep can cause daytime sleepiness that detracts from school or work performance and heightens the risk of accidents while driving or operating machinery.

Sleep cycles can vary from person to person and from night to night based on a wide range of factors such as age, recent sleep patterns, metabolism, dinner time, usage of screen before going to bed and alcohol consumption. During healthy sleep, a person progresses through a series of sleep cycles, each of which is made up of distinct sleep stages.

There are four sleep stages, including one for rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and three that form non-REM (NREM) sleep. Repeated interruptions and awakenings can disrupt that process, causing far-reaching effects of disrupted sleep on brain function, physical health, and emotional well-being, according to the sleepfoundation.org. The long-term inability to proceed through each sleep stage combined with the activation of multiple systems of the body during repeated awakenings has been tied to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, weight gain, and metabolic problems including type 2 diabetes.

Potential effects on the brain and body indicate that healthy sleep requires avoiding disruptions that inhibit sleep continuity. Disorders like restless legs syndrome (RLS) and bruxism are known to disrupt sleep. Other conditions, including nocturia, cardiovascular issues, as well as hormonal, lung, and neurological problems may threaten sleep continuity. Certain prescription drugs can have sleep-related side effects.

Given how uninterrupted sleep for many adults in India is a challenge for a variety of reasons reported by them, LocalCircles on the occasion of World Sleep Day 2025 has conducted a new survey to find out about people’s sleep pattern and what causes them to have disturbed sleep pattern resulting in inadequate rest and other health issues. The survey received over 43,000 responses from citizens located in 348 districts of India. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 28 from tier 2 and 27% respondents were from tier 3, 4, 5 and rural districts.

59% Indians surveyed get less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily

The survey first asked respondents, “How many hours of uninterrupted sleep have you generally gotten at night in the past 12 months?” Out of 15,659 who responded to the question, 39% stated “6-8 hours”; 39% stated “4-6 hours”; 20% stated “up to 4 hours” and 2% stated “8-10 hours”. To sum up, 59% of citizens surveyed said they are getting less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily.

72% Indians surveyed who have sleep interruptions say they have to wake up to use the washroom; Other interruptions include poor schedules, external sounds, mosquitoes, etc.

Restless sleep or interrupted sleep can be the result of varied reasons. The survey next asked, “What are all the different interruptions you generally experience that prevent you from getting 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night?" Some among the 14,952 respondents to the question indicated more than one reason. The biggest reason indicated by 72% of respondents is “have to use washroom once or more during sleep time”; 25% of respondents stated “late to bed and schedule/ household activity in the early morning hours”; 22% of respondents stated “other factors like mosquitoes, external sounds”; 9% stated “children or partner related interruption”; 9% stated "have a medical condition like sleep apnea, others that don’t allow me to sleep straight 8 hours”; 9% stated “other interruptions” not mentioned ; 16% of respondents stated “just can’t sleep for 8 hours straight”; 6% stated “mobile calls and messages related interruption”; and 3% of respondents stated “not applicable (sleep for 8 hours or more generally). To sum up, 72% Indians surveyed who have sleep interruptions say they have to wake up to use the washroom; Other interruptions include poor schedules, external sounds, mosquitoes, etc.

38% of those who get less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily are also unable to make up for their lack of sleep on weekends or holidays

From power napping to getting up late on weekends to having a siesta in the afternoon are some of the ways in which different ways people try to make up for inability to have proper sleep on a regular basis. The survey asked, “What all do you do to make up for the lack of sleep during the week?” Out of 13,258 who responded to the question 23% stated they “sleep longer on weekends”; 36% stated they “sleep on Sunday afternoons”; 13% said they “sleep longer on holidays”; 38% stated they are “generally not able to make up on the lack of sleep” and 13% did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 38% of those who get less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily are also unable to make up for their lack of sleep on weekends or holidays.

10 tips for Better Sleep

Below are some of the tips from citizens and experts on LocalCircles about what to do to make your sleep better:

In summary, 59% Indians surveyed get less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily. The most common reason for lack of uninterrupted sleep according to 72% Indians surveyed is because they have to wake up to use the washroom. The survey reveals that other interruptions include poor schedules (both at home and at work), external sounds, mosquitoes, etc. Unfortunately, 38% of those who get less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily are also unable to make up for their lack of sleep on weekends or holidays, possibly because of their responsibilities. The crowd sourced tips from citizens and experts on LocalCircles, if followed, can help people sleep better!

Survey Demographics

The survey received over 43,000 responses from citizens located in 348 districts of India. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 28 from tier 2 and 27% respondents were from tier 3, 4, 5 and rural districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.