The smartphone ‘sleep game app’ Pokemon Sleep has revealed intriguing data about its players’ sleeping habits during the New Year’s Eve holiday. According to the app’s analysis, via Japanese media Famitsu, people who use the app go to bed significantly later than usual on December 31. With an average bedtime of 11:47 PM, Pokemon Sleep users in Japan seem to sleep 45 minutes later than their typical daily bedtime.
Pokemon Sleep estimates bedtimes based on when users’ sleep is measured, rather than when they activate the app’s Sleep mode. The data showed that users’ average sleep duration on New Year’s Eve was 6 hours and 43 minutes. This figure isn’t only 20 minutes shorter than the average of 7 hours and 1 minute but also the second shortest duration in recent records.
Unfortunately, the data only refers to Japanese users’ sleep schedules as Pokemon Sleep didn’t share any data on its English or global version users. Still, the shift in sleep patterns shown by Pokemon Sleep could reflect New Year’s Eve traditions in various countries. The most common one is playing and watching fireworks until late at night.
In Japanese players’ case, they’re also likely to stay up late to watch the annual Kouhaku Utagassen show on the NHK TV channel. It’s a popular music competition show between ‘white’ and ‘red’ groups consisting of famous singers that’s a staple of Japan’s year-end celebrations. The British rock band Queen and Adam Lambert were invited to the show in 2023. Shrines also do a traditional late-night bell-ringing ceremony called joya no kane to celebrate the passing of the old year and welcome a new one.
While celebrating the holiday is important, making time for proper rest is just as crucial — especially for gamers. Rather than attempting something too ambitious why not start establishing better sleep schedules for your 2025 resolution?
