French Lead In Time Spent Eating and Sleeping, Finds Study

True to their reputation as leisure-loving gourmets, the French spend more time sleeping and eating than anyone else among the world's wealthy nations, according to a study.

The average French person sleeps almost nine hours every night, more than an hour longer than the average Japanese and Korean, who sleep the least in a survey of 18 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and half an hour longer than most Americans.

And while more and more French people grab a bite at fast-food chains these days or wolf down a sandwich at their desk, they still spend more than two hours a day eating.

That means they devote more time to eating than anyone else and nearly double that of Americans, Canadians and Mexicans.

The Japanese, scrimping on sleep and burdened with long commutes and working hours, still manage to spend close to two hours a day eating and drinking, placing them third behind New Zealanders.

Although the Japanese sleep nearly an hour less every night than the French and also spend longer at work and commuting than they do indulging in leisure activities.

Turks, on the other hand, are the most sociable population, spending more than a third of their leisure time entertaining friends, more than triple the OECD average of 11%.

The survey showed that the split between work and leisure time within certain countries is striking.

"Italian men have nearly 80 minutes a day of leisure more than women. Much of the additional work of Italian women is apparently spent cleaning the house," says the OECD study.

Norway is the most equal society, with men having only a few more minutes of leisure than women.

 � Copyright 2004-2015 The News Vault. All rights reserved.