Where in the world can you get a good night's sleep?
Lately, sleep has been a problem for millions of us. With the ongoing worry of the pandemic, the heatwave and the stress of returning to work just as the summer holidays begin, insomnia has become quite the companion.
But it may be that in the UK, we're suffering excessively, while other countries drift off into a blissful, air-conditioned slumber as soon as the tropical sun drops behind the verandah. To find out where is the world offers the best night's sleep (and how we can copy them) Lenstore has analysed 36 cities across the globe.
From optimal temperatures and humidity levels to light pollution, each city has been scored across 8 areas contributing to good sleep across Air quality, percentage of people with depression, humidity levels, average temperature, length of work week, searches for sleeping pills online, and night light and noise pollution. Now, the results are in - and the top 10 best cities for a good night sleep are:
1 Canberra, Australia
Known for its warm temperatures, Canberra takes the top spot in this analysis as the best city for a good night’s sleep.
The Aussie capital ranks best of all locations for the lowest amount of night light and noise pollution. The air quality in Canberra is also rated the third-best in the world, second only to Wellington, New Zealand, and Bern in Switzerland.
2 Vienna, Austria
Austria’s capital Vienna takes second place, ranking highly for its low noise levels, and seventh highest for its air quality. It's also rarely too hot.
Read more: 5 of the best buys for a cool and comfortable night's sleep
3 Luxembourg
This small European location ranks third in the index of best cities to get decent sleep. Just 7.6% of residents in Luxembourg are working more than 48 hours per week, allowing them to switch off and get a good night's rest. Luxembourg also offers the sixth-best air quality of all locations analysed
4 Jerusalem, Israel
Not only is Jerusalem considered one of the holiest places in the world, it's also one of the best locations for healthy sleep.
The city ranks as the best overall for its optimal temperature, an average of 19.2 degrees Celsius, which is less than a degree away from the ideal sleep temperature of 18.3C. Its humidity levels are also optimal at 47%.
5 Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is one of the happiest cities surveyed, having the second-lowest population percentage of people with depression at 4.2% and one of the lowest search volumes for sleeping pills per 100,000 people at 18.
Depression and anxiety are known to interfere with sleep quality.
6 Vilnius, Lithuania
The Eastern European city’s population has the second-best work-life balance with just 2.3% of its residents working more than 48 hour weeks. It ranks as the fifth-lowest city searching for sleeping pills.
Read more: The 12 best sleep apps to beat insomnia
7 Bern, Switzerland
Known for its breathtaking views, Bern ranks seventh in this index and is positioned as the fourth-best city in the world for low light pollution, beaten just by Tokyo, Berlin, and Bogota. Clean, airy Bern also offers the second-best air quality with a score of 94.32 out of 100.
8. Copenhagen, Denmark
Denmark is known for ranking well for happiness levels and work-life balance. Copenhagen has some of the highest air quality at 81.43, over four times better than the quality in Santiago, Chile, which has a score of just 17.72. Known for being on the cold side, it may be worth bringing a blanket with Copenhagen ranking in the bottom 10 for ideal temperature to sleep, averaging at a chilly 7.5°C.
9. Lisbon, Portugal
The Portuguese capital takes ninth place in this analysis and has the lowest searches amongst its population for sleeping pills. With less than one person per 100,000 people looking for insomnia medication, compared to 224 people per 100,000 in Washington, USA. Lisbon also ranks as having the fourth most optimal average temperature at 15.15°C.
10. Stockholm, Sweden
Coming in at tenth, Stockholm ranks well across the majority of metrics, including being home to the city with the fifth-best air quality with a score of 83.21 out of 100, and also the fifth-best city for low noise levels and reduced night light. However when it comes to temperature, similarly to Copenhagen, the Swedish capital ranks in the bottom three with an average temperature of just 2.1 degrees celsius.
The cities offering the worst night's sleep are Washington, USA - more people are searching for “sleeping pills” in Washington than anywhere else covered in the research - Santiago, Chile, where the air quality is rated the worst across the world, and San José, Costa Rica with the highest humidity listed, at an average of 83%.
So while the weather and the worries may be bothering you, rest easy - there are places where they have it a whole lot worse.
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