One fifth of the population in Japan suffers from insomnia. Treating insomnia has been classified as a specialized field

The average sleep duration of Japanese people is the shortest among major countries worldwide. One fifth of Japanese suffer from insomnia. Due to the negative impact of insufficient sleep on work efficiency and the resulting economic losses for Japan, the Japanese health authorities have included insomnia in the key medical specialty areas this year and it is covered by the national health insurance.

According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the average sleep duration for Japanese people is approximately 7 hours and 20 minutes, ranking at the bottom among the 33 member countries. A survey conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Health in 2024 found that one fifth of people aged 20 and above suffer from sleep disorders.

In Japanese hospitals, insomnia is classified under the psychiatry department. However, there is a lack of an independent medical diagnosis and treatment system, which leads to patients' confusion over whether to consider it a disease and seek medical treatment. Therefore, the Japanese authorities revised the medical specialty directory after 18 years and included "sleep disorders" in it. This revision allows hospitals to establish "sleep disorder internal medicine" departments specifically for treating insomnia. Private clinics can also advertise their services for treating insomnia. This is believed to lower the threshold for seeking medical treatment, enabling patients to receive treatment earlier.

According to an estimate by the US think tank RAND Corporation, if the Japanese labor force could get adequate sleep - that is, 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day - Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) could avoid a 3.2% loss. Calculated based on the actual GDP in 2025, this would amount to recovering 19 trillion yen in economic losses.

Including it in the specialty category is also to establish a complete system, ensuring that the drugs vigorously developed and sold by pharmaceutical companies can truly benefit patients. It is known that Japan's first application for treating insomnia has been included in the medical insurance. The treatment approach is to prescribe the appropriate medication based on the eight-week sleep and wake-up times recorded by the patients.

The Japanese medical community has pointed out that in addition to stress and irregular lifestyles, the widespread use of smartphones is also a significant factor contributing to the sharp increase in the number of people suffering from insomnia. It is estimated that by 2035, the market size for sleep disorder treatment in Japan is expected to reach 160.7 billion yen.

As the authorities have placed greater emphasis on the treatment of insomnia, businesses have also been launching sleep-aid products. For instance, MUJI has launched a "Sleep Turning Support Pillow". Its function is to detect the body movements during sleep and automatically adjust the angle of the bed to ensure that users can sleep soundly.

Tatsuya Matsui, the chief operating officer of the bedding company Brain Sleep, believes that "classifying sleep disorders as a medical specialty is expected to enhance society's awareness of sleep disorders."