Pokémon Sleep actually improves your 40 winks, study suggests 

On December 13, Yahoo Data Solution published the results of an independent study suggesting that Pokémon Sleep users are more likely to sleep better than non-users.  

Centered around a sleepy Snorlax, Pokémon Sleep is a sleep tracking app that measures, records and analyzes your sleep. The app’s appeal is that it allows you to collect Pokémon by sleeping. The Pokémon vary based on your sleep type and the more sleep you get, the more Pokémon you can add to your Sleep Style Dex collection, incentivizing users to catch up on their Zs.  

For their independent study, Yahoo Data Solution used Yahoo! Japan browsing logs between September 2022 and September 2023. They supposed that Pokémon Sleep users were those who searched for “Pokémon Sleep” in combination with queries related to how to play and progress in the game during a certain time period. They then used an identical number of users with similar attributes such as age, gender and search count as a control group. 

In comparing the two groups, they discovered a significant drop in the number of “Pokemon Sleep users” that were using Yahoo services between midnight and 5am. This suggests that Pokémon Sleep users are less likely to be searching the internet late at night. 

Not only that, but Yahoo’s survey also concluded that Pokémon Sleep users increased their sleeping time by almost 30 minutes on average. This was calculated by estimating users’ sleep time based on browsing data collected between 8pm and 11am of the following morning. The longest break between browsing sessions was estimated to be the user’s sleep time. So, in other words, the study assumed users were sleeping when they weren’t using Yahoo! 

After excluding any outliers, the researchers calculated estimated sleep duration, resulting in the distribution graph below. The graph suggests that Pokémon Sleep users increased their sleep duration by an average of 26 minutes over a one-year period. The comparison group, however, only managed to increase their sleep by a measly 1 minute on average. 

Not only did Pokémon Sleep users get more shuteye than non-users, they also tended to search for ways to improve their sleep. By analyzing the search keywords combinations that were associated with the Pokémon Sleep group, researchers discovered that Pokémon sleep users tended to search for a wide variety of keywords related to sleep improvement. 

 In contrast, only 3 search keyword combinations were identified for the non-user group: “Effect of honey before sleep,” “How to stop taking sleeping pills” and “How many hours of sleep is best.” Pokémon Sleep users showed a deeper interest in sleep improvement, searching for more specialized information like “ideal sleep rhythm,” “non-REM sleep time,” and “sleep deficit.” They also tended to search for more terms related to fitness as well. 

The results of the study suggest that Pokémon Sleep users are highly conscious of their sleeping habits. It could also be that using Pokémon Sleep has increased their interest in getting a good night’s rest. The Pokémon Company originally developed the app with the aim of making sleep enjoyable, consulting with sleep expert Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa of the University of Tsukuba. It seems that their goal of helping people to improve their sleep in a fun way might be working.  

Pokémon Sleep is free to play on iOS and Android. 

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-12-13 20:28)