Sleep-deprived Koreans oversleep on holidays — experts warn

After the excitement of reunions fades, many Koreans report fatigue during the Lunar New Year holiday due to long travel and extensive family rituals. For office workers chronically short on sleep, the break may seem like the perfect chance to catch up all at once. But experts warn that binge sleeping can actually harm health. Koreans’ sleep patterns are already concerning. The average daily sleep time is 7 hours and 41 minutes — more than 40 minutes shorter than the OECD average of 8 hours and 22 minutes. Frequent overtime work, after-hours socializing, intense competition and smartphone use late into the night are major disruptors of restful sleep. Hwang Kyung-jin, a professor of neurology at Kyung Hee University Hospital, said, “During sleep, memory consolidation, immune system regulation and removal of brain waste occur. If you face the next day without these processes, concentration declines and reaction speed slows.” Even after several sleepless days, daily functioning may seem intact because of the body’s ability to endure. Hwang said, “Adrenaline and stress hormones

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