Sleep shapes every part of life: your mood, your energy, your focus, your immunity, even your appetite. Yet most of us judge our sleep with one question: How many hours did I get?
The South Africa Sleep Census gives you a far more accurate, holistic picture of your rest. It goes beyond hours in bed to measure the factors that influence whether your sleep is truly restorative.
Whether your score was high, low, or somewhere in between, here’s what it really means.
What Is the South Africa Sleep Census?
The Census is a 0–100 rating designed to reflect the quality of your sleep, not just how long you’re lying down.
It’s built from five core pillars that have the strongest scientific links to healthy, rejuvenating sleep. Each pillar is weighted differently because some factors influence your rest more than others.
Your final result is a single overall Sleep Score (not a breakdown per pillar), designed to give you a clear, easy-to-understand snapshot of your sleep health. It’s simple to interpret and offers a practical starting point for understanding and improving your sleep habits.
The Five Pillars of the South Africa Sleep Census
1. Sleep Duration (20%)
Duration matters - but only to a point. Most adults thrive on 7–9 hours of sleep.
Sleeping less can affect metabolism, mood, immune function and recovery, but sleeping more than 9 hours on a regular basis isn’t always a sign of great sleep - it can indicate low sleep efficiency, disrupted sleep cycles, or other factors that affect how restorative your sleep truly is.
2. Night Wakings (30%) — The Most Influential Pillar
Night wakings break up your sleep cycles, reducing your time in the deep and REM stages that restore body and mind.
Two or more awakenings can shift your score noticeably.
If you’ve ever slept eight hours but still felt exhausted, fragmented sleep was likely the culprit.
3. Restedness on Waking (25%)
Restedness is your body’s honesty meter.
If you wake up feeling sluggish most days, your sleep quality is off, even if your duration looks fine on paper.
This pillar reflects:
- How restorative your sleep cycles were
- How deeply you slept
- How well your body recovered overnight
- Whether your environment supported uninterrupted rest
It’s a powerful indicator because your body simply doesn’t lie.
4. Mattress Comfort (15%)
Your sleep surface plays a significant role in how well you sleep.
An unsupportive mattress or pillow can:
- Create painful pressure points
- Trigger micro-wakings
- Cause shallow sleep
- Lead to morning stiffness or pain
- Disrupt natural spinal alignment
Comfort isn’t a luxury, it’s foundational to real rest.
5. Consistency of Routine (10%)
Your internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, thrives on predictability.
Going to bed and waking up around the same time helps regulate:
- Hormones
- Energy levels
- Sleep depth
- Morning alertness
Irregular routines, especially large swings between weekdays and weekends, can disrupt your rhythm and lower your score. (Ever wondered why Monday mornings are so difficult to wake up after a weekend of sleeping in?)
What Your Sleep Score Says About Your Rest
Your score tells a story. Here’s how to interpret it:
80–100: Excellent
Your sleep routine and environment are working well together. You’re getting truly restorative rest.
60–79: Good
Your sleep is generally healthy with the occasional disturbance. Small tweaks could improve your score.
40–59: Fair
Your sleep is inconsistent or not as restorative as it should be. Morning grogginess may be familiar.
20–39: Poor
Sleep disruptions, stress, discomfort, or irregular routines are likely affecting you daily.
0–19: Very Poor
Your sleep is significantly disrupted. Beginning with the basics will make the biggest difference.
Why Your Sleep Score Matters
Your Sleep Score gives you a clearer picture of your overall sleep health, something most of us rarely stop to measure. A single score helps you see whether your current habits and environment are supporting restorative sleep or holding you back.
It’s not about perfection or overhauling your routine. Your score simply highlights whether your sleep is on track or if there’s room for improvement, giving you a practical starting point for small, meaningful changes.
Understanding the factors that influence sleep quality - from routine to environment, duration and comfort - helps you make simple adjustments that support deeper, more restorative rest.
The Sleep Score also helps us track how South Africans sleep over time, offering year-on-year insights into national sleep habits. Your participation contributes to a clearer, more accurate picture of sleep health across the country.
About the South Africa Sleep Census
The South Africa Sleep Census forms part of Sloom’s annual national sleep survey, designed to understand how South Africans sleep and how habits shift year after year. Your anonymous responses help build a clearer picture of our country’s sleep health and highlight opportunities for better wellbeing at scale.
Disclaimer:
The South Africa Sleep Census is a general well-being tool designed to help South Africans better understand their sleep habits. It is not a medical device and does not measure biometric data such as heart rate, oxygen levels, or sleep stages. Your score is based solely on self-reported behaviours and environmental factors and should be used as a guide, not as medical advice. If you have concerns about your sleep health, please consult a healthcare professional. The Sleep Census is used to assess sleep trends across South Africa year-on-year and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.