Background: Japanese people are known to have the shortest sleep duration in the world. To date, no study has assessed a large Japanese population for insomnia and sleep duration.
Methods: We performed an Ιnternet-based survey in association with a national television (TV) program. Questionnaire data were collected not only through personal computers, tablets, and smartphones, but also through the Hybridcast system, which combines broadcasts over airwaves with broadband data provided via the Internet using the TV remote controller. The Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) was used to assess insomnia.
Results: A total of 301,241 subjects participated in the survey. Participants slept for an average of 5.96 ± 1.13 h; the average AIS score was 6.82 ± 3.69. A total of 26.1% of male and 27.1% of female participants had both insomnia (AIS ≥ 6) and short sleep duration (<6 h). Responses were recorded through the Hybridcast system for 76.4% of the elderly (age ≥ 65 years) subjects and through personal computers, tablets, or smartphones for 59.9-82.7% of the younger subjects (age ≤ 65 years).
Conclusions: Almost a quarter of the Japanese participants presented short sleep duration and insomnia. Furthermore, the Hybridcast system may be useful for performing large internet-based surveys, especially for elderly individuals.
Keywords: TV program; bidirectional network; hybridcast; insomnia; internet survey; participation bias; sleep duration.