Global Perspectives on Sleep Health: Definitions, Disparities, and Implications for Public Health

Abstract

Sleep health is a multidimensional construct encompassing sleep quality, duration, efficiency, regularity, and alignment with circadian rhythms, playing a crucial role in overall well-being. Sleep health remains inconsistently defined across research and clinical settings despite its importance, limiting the ability to standardize assessments and interventions. Recent studies have emphasized the significance of defining sleep health beyond the absence of sleep disorders, integrating subjective and objective measures to assess its impact on physical and mental health outcomes. Disparities in sleep health exist across gender, socioeconomic status, and geographic regions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where inconsistent work schedules, economic stress, and healthcare access influence sleep patterns. Poor sleep health is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and mental health disorders, reinforcing its role as a modifiable risk factor in public health. Lifestyle factors such as caffeine consumption, physical activity, and irregular eating patterns also contribute to sleep disturbances, highlighting the need for behavioral interventions. This narrative review aims to synthesize the current knowledge on sleep health, focusing on its definitions, measurement tools, global disparities, and associations.

Keywords: circadian health; disparities; sleep disorders; sleep health.

Figure 1

Methods for assessing sleep health and its multidimensional component.

Figure 2

Comprehensive factors affecting sleep health: the interplay of global influences.