睡眠負債

• 読み: すいみんふさい
• ローマ字: suimin fusai
• 漢字の分解: 睡眠 (sleep; 睡 = drowsy + 眠 = sleep) + 負債 (debt; 負 = bear/owe + 債 = debt) → sleep debt, accumulated deficit from insufficient sleep
• 発音: /su.i.miɴ.ɸu.sa.i/

意味

Sleep debt — the accumulated deficit from chronically not getting enough sleep, which cannot be repaid by weekend sleeping in.

睡眠負債 became a buzzword in Japan after NHK and other media ran features on the concept, shocking viewers with the revelation that sleep lost during the week cannot simply be 'repaid' by sleeping in on weekends. The term hit a nerve in Japan, where working long hours and sleeping little has long been normalized or even glorified. Research showed that Japanese people average some of the least sleep in the world, and 睡眠負債 gave a concrete, financial-sounding name to the consequences. The 'debt' metaphor resonated with the idea that sleep loss accumulates with interest.

例文

1. 平日の睡眠負債を週末の寝だめで返すのは無理らしいよ。
2. 日本人は睡眠負債が世界的に見ても深刻なんだって。
3. 睡眠負債がたまると集中力も免疫力も落ちるから怖い。

使い方ガイド

場面: health, media, social media, daily conversation

トーン: cautionary, educational

正しい言い方

• 睡眠負債やばいから、今日は早く寝る。 (My sleep debt is terrible, so I'm going to bed early tonight.)
• 睡眠負債は週末の寝だめじゃ解消できないんだよ。 (You can't clear sleep debt just by sleeping in on weekends.)

避ける言い方

• 「寝てないアピール」は睡眠負債を増やすだけ — 短時間睡眠を自慢しない ('Look how little I slept' bragging just increases sleep debt — don't glorify being sleep-deprived)

よくある間違い

• Believing 寝だめ (binge sleeping on weekends) can repay 睡眠負債 — research shows irregular sleep patterns actually worsen the problem

起源と歴史

Translation of English 'sleep debt' (originally coined by sleep researcher William Dement). Became a major buzzword in Japan around 2017 when NHK featured the concept, raising alarm about Japan's chronic sleep deprivation.

文化的背景

時代: 2017 NHK feature, buzzword from late 2010s

世代: All ages, awareness-raising concept

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. Particularly impactful in a culture where sleeping little was traditionally seen as diligent. Japan consistently ranks among the most sleep-deprived OECD nations.