Half of South Korean high schoolers get less than six hours of sleep a day

About half of all high school students in Korea sleep less than six hours a day due to demanding study schedules. Academic pressure was also identified as a primary reason why students feel unhappy or contemplate suicide. According to a report released by the National Youth Policy Institute on Wednesday, 46.7 percent of 2,258 high school students surveyed in 2024 said they slept less than six hours each day, followed by 30.8 percent saying they got 6-7 hours, 29.7 percent said 5-6 hours, 17.0 percent saying they slept for less than 5 hours and 5.5 percent said they slept for 8 hours or more each night. The average sleep duration was 6 hours — far below the 8-10 hours recommended for adolescents in recent research. "Studying" was identified as the main cause of sleep deprivation. Studying at home, including watching online lectures and doing homework, was cited by 25.5 percent of students as the reason for their lack of sleep, followed by attendance at private academies and tutoring (19.3 percent) and late-night study sessions at school (13.4 percent). Studying also took a heavy toll oWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times