The sleepy French (and sleepy Americans)

By Justin Fox | May 4, 2009 | +

The French spend more time sleeping than anyone else in OECD countries. They also devote more time to eating than anyone else and nearly double that of Americans, Canadians or Mexicans. The Japanese sleep nearly an hour less every night than the French and also spend longer at work and commuting than they do indulging in leisure activities.

It’s a very stereotype-confirming message, until you look at the data and learn that the U.S. comes in just behind France in the sleep rankings, at 518 minutes a day to France’s 530 (the OECD average is 502). But we definitely do eat fast, with just 74 minutes a day devoted to eating, compared with 135 in France and 162 in champion Turkey. Mexico is the fast food champ at 66 minutes spent eating each day. We’ve got the highest obesity rate, though.

More fun (and not so fun) facts from the OECD’s Society at a Glance 2009 report:

1) “Americans are not getting taller. The United States is the only country in the OECD where men and women aged 45-49 are no taller than those aged 20-24 years old, indicating no improvement in health and social conditions determining gain in height.”

2) The U.S. has the third-highest fertility rate in the OECD (behind Turkey and Mexico), at 2.1 children per mother.

3) “American men have nearly 40 minutes more leisure time than women per day.”

Related Topics: Economy & Policy

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