Abstract
Insomnia disorder (ID) is highly prevalent in industrialized societies, yet it is primarily conceptualized and treated at the individual level, with limited consideration of sociocultural influences. This cross-sectional, cross cultural study investigated subjective sleep satisfaction and perceived sleep duration across groups differing in lifestyle, scale and degree of industrialization. A total of 1,389 adults from seven countries completed measures of sleep satisfaction and perceived sleep duration. Healthy participants included 37 individuals from the Hadza hunter-gatherer group in Tanzania (small-scale, non-industrialized group), 447 individuals from rural regions of Madagascar, Guatemala, and South Africa (mixed-scale groups) and 833 participants from large-scale, industrialized groups (United States and Mexico, large-scale). A separate clinical sample of 72 Swiss patients suffering from ID was included. Logistic regressions and Bayesian analyses were conducted on two dichotomous outcomes: sleep satisfaction and perceived sleep duration (<6 h vs. ≥6 h). Participants from the Hadza group showed a significantly higher probability of being satisfied with their sleep than participants from large scale groups and patients with ID. All non-clinical groups reported greater sleep satisfaction than the ID group. In contrast, no significant differences in perceived sleep duration were observed across groups. Sleep satisfaction, but not perceived sleep duration, varied across groups differing in levels of industrialization. These findings suggest that subjective sleep experience extends beyond perceived sleep duration and that sociocultural factors may play an important role in subjective sleep experience and should be considered in models of insomnia and sleep health.