Trouble Sleeping? Only 1 in 4 Singaporeans Sleep Through the Night

Năo-I-Know
2 days ago
4 min read

In this article, we will cover:

What’s really keeping city dwellers awake - from stress and screens to late-night caffeine
How broken sleep messes with your focus, mood, and health over time
What your brain and body are doing (or not doing) while you’re “resting”
Simple, proven ways to fall asleep faster and wake up sharper
How restNAO helps your body switch off and stay in deep recovery mode

Typical Singaporeans, we love to be “world leading” in whatever we do. But some titles are unwanted. Singapore ranks 3rd among 43 cities in a global study for sleep deprivation. At this point, insomnia might as well be our unofficial national sport. The National Sleep Foundation says adults need at least 7 hours of sleep a night, but a YouGov survey found that only 1 in 4 Singaporeans (27%) actually gets that much.

Most of us scrape by with six to seven hours (39%), and about a third (32%) are surviving on four to six hours, basically powered by caffeine, anxiety, and hope. And even though 8 in 10 of us wish we could get proper rest, only a tiny fraction actually do. Most of us argue with our alarms every morning like it’s a toxic relationship we can’t end.

What Lack of Sleep Does to You:

You may not actually feel it, but poor sleep messes with your brain, mood, and body (even affecting the stability of your blood sugar —hello, extra kilos).

You lose focus, forget small things, and overreact for no real reason.
Your whole system slows down from your metabolism to your immune response.
You become more prone to catching colds and flu.
And over time, disrupted sleep can dull your body’s natural defences, the same ones that help you fight off viruses, bacteria, and tumour cells when they show up uninvited.

Sleep isn’t just “rest.” It’s when your brain cleans itself, stores memories, and recharges your body on a cellular level. Without that time, everything starts to feel harder than it should.

What’s Actually Happening in Your Body

When you’re supposed to be resting, your brain’s meant to switch from “alert mode” to “recovery mode.” But if you’re still stressed, sipping coffee at 9 p.m., or binging Netflix, your body’s like, “Wait… are we resting or surviving?”

A study found that when people have their sleep schedules messed up, their cortisol (the stress hormone) and inflammation levels go totally out of sync, and their bodies stay on edge for extended periods of time.

It’s bad news when inflammation stays high and your body never gets the memo to chill. That kind of low-key chaos can mess with recovery, make you fall sick faster, and even age you quicker (yep, your skin’s not happy about it either). That’s why you can “sleep” eight hours and still wake up feeling like you just lost a wrestling match with your alarm clock.

Why We’re All Struggling to Sleep

City that never slows down: Even past midnight, the lights are on, the roads are busy, and someone’s always awake. Your brain picks up those cues and assumes it’s still go-time, not bedtime.

Work stress that never really ends: Here, “knocking off” often means checking emails on the MRT home or thinking about tomorrow’s to-do list. That constant stress keeps your cortisol high, the hormone that tells your body to stay alert.

Too much screen time: That blue glow from your phone, or from gaming all night, tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daylight. You might feel tired, but your body hasn’t received the signal to switch off.

Coffee habits: We love our coffee, but caffeine can linger for hours (between 2 and 12 hours after intake). That innocent post-dinner cup of joe can easily turn into a 1 a.m. staring contest with your ceiling.

How to Stop Losing Sleep

Get morning light: Go outside within an hour of waking up. Even cloudy Singapore mornings help reset and maintain a healthy body clock.

Cut caffeine early: Try to have your last coffee before 2 p.m. Your body will thank you at midnight.

Dim the lights at night: Warm lighting, fewer screens, and certainly less social media. You don’t need to be in the dark, but pull back on stimulants and give your brain a clear signal that the day’s ending.

Wind down properly: Do something quiet. Read, stretch, or write down what’s on your mind. Let your thoughts slow down before your body does.

Keep your room cool and calm: 20-22 °C is ideal. Darkness helps too; blackout curtains make a big difference in the city.

Why restNAO Works When Your Brain Won’t Chill

You can have the best sleep habits in the world, the lights dimmed, the phone away, the chamomile tea on standby, and still find your mind racing. That’s modern life. Our brains have been conditioned to run at full speed long after our bodies beg to shut down. That’s where restNAO helps. It supports your natural sleep rhythm so your body can relax and your mind can finally catch up.

It’s built with a few key ingredients that work together to calm your system and help your body remember what real rest feels like.

Rice Bran Extract (Gamma Oryzanol & Beta Sitosterol): This duo helps regulate the body’s stress response by reducing cortisol levels and protecting cells from oxidative damage, the kind triggered by chronic tension and mental overload. The result is a calmer nervous system and smoother transition into rest.

Magnesium Glycinate: Think of this as your nervous system’s off-switch. Magnesium fuels GABA, the neurotransmitter responsible for easing mental chatter and loosening that “tight” feeling in your body after long, stressful days.

5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP): Your body uses this to make serotonin and melatonin, the two key players for mood and sleep. It helps regulate your sleep cycles so you drift off naturally and wake up clear, not groggy or heavy.

Life in Singapore moves fast, with bright lights, a relentless pace, and pressure that never truly subsides. But your brain isn’t built to run on overdrive forever. Sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity for you to over-perform over time. Change your mindset, and your body will thank you.