UAE ranks among world’s most efficient sleepers despite shorter nights

Residents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked among the world’s most efficient sleepers despite averaging fewer hours of sleep per night.

According to the recent Oura UAE: The State of Sleep report, UAE-based Oura members average 6.85 hours of sleep per night but achieve a sleep efficiency score of 85.7 per cent, measuring the proportion of time in bed spent asleep. This places the UAE among the highest globally for sleep efficiency.

The data shows that UAE residents go to bed later and wake later than many other countries, with an average sleep window from 12:06 am to 7:57 am. The report found that 6.67 per cent of sleepers in the UAE fall into the late-evening chronotype category, compared with a global average of 3 per cent.

Despite sleeping less than the global average of 7.1 hours per night, sleep quality in the UAE remains higher than in several countries where people sleep longer, including Finland, the US and the UK.

The UAE also outperformed Japan on measures including sleep efficiency, REM sleep and deep sleep, while also recording longer average sleep duration.

UAE women outperform men in sleep

The report highlighted differences between men and women in the UAE. Women sleep an average of 7.07 hours per night compared with 6.59 hours for men. Women also recorded stronger sleep efficiency and more consistent REM sleep patterns.

Doug Sweeny, CMO at Oura, said: “Sleep quality is one of the most important indicators of long-term health, and the UAE is a standout example of protecting quality when life demands make quantity a challenge. In a place where nights run late and productivity is a cultural norm, we’re seeing a nation work with the body’s natural circadian rhythms rather than against them.

“By understanding and respecting individual chronotypes whether you peak early, later, or somewhere in between UAE residents are tailoring their rest and activity for deeper, more restorative sleep.”

The findings are based on aggregated and anonymised sleep data collected from Oura members in the UAE and globally over a 12-month period from October 2024 to September 2025.