Cultural and societal factors significantly affect sleep. Good sleep is a prerequisite for good health, productivity, and overall well-being. There have been many breakthroughs in recent years in our understanding of the factors that underlie a good night's sleep. But little was known about how culture might affect sleep patterns. To learn more, a recent study analyzed the sleep patterns of over 30,000 people across 11 countries using wearable devices. It turns out that where you live, and the societal factors that come with it, such as GDP and cultural norms, have a strong impact on both sleep quality and quantity. However, the cultural effect on sleep can be influenced by individual factors like exercise. The individual effort also varies by country. Countries with a higher individualism index (IDV), which emphasizes individual achievement and relationships, had significantly longer sleep durations, which could be attributed to earlier bedtimes in such societies. For example, adding exercise such as extra 1,000 daily steps is associated with better sleep quality, especially in the US but not as much in Japan. These findings suggest that both international organizations and sleep apps should consider location when crafting sleep recommendations. "While it is intriguing to see that a society can play a role in determining the quantity and quality of an individual's sleep with large-scale data, the significance of this study is that it quantitatively shows that even within the same culture (country), individual efforts such as daily exercise can have a positive impact on sleep quantity and quality."- Shaun Sungkyu Park.