When is Festival of Sleep Day?

The next occurence will be on January 3rd, 2025. The last occurence was on January 3rd, 2024.

Festival of Sleep Day (January 3rd)

Quick facts
When is it?	Every January 3rd
Tagged as:	Men People & Relationships Women
What's the hashtag?	#FestivalofSleepDay
We first published this page on:	Dec 23rd, 2017
We last updated this page:	Nov 6th, 2024

Most everyone loves sleep, right? Climbing into bed, snuggling up under the covers and slowly slipping into the land of dreams, dreaming of our favorite things or even dreaming about a loved one? Perhaps bedtime is even a childhood memory that we are fond to reminisce upon.

This daily activity is beloved by so many, and this is the perfect day to offer it some extra attention — on Festival of Sleep Day!

How to Celebrate Festival of Sleep Day

The organizers hope that the day will celebrate the act of sleep and help create more positive attitudes. People taking part should do what they can to raise awareness of the importance of getting adequate shut-eye and how it is anything but lazy.

Check out a ofew of these other ways to get involve:

Enjoy a Nap

To celebrate this day in the best possible way, climb into your PJ’s, jump into bed and relax, or even take a nap!

But for those who have errands to run or work during the day, then save the celebration for when you get home.

Get Enough Sleep at Night

Festival of Sleep Day is also about helping to restore some normality to our biology. Evolutionarily speaking, people would have gone to bed soon after the setting sun and risen at the breaking of the day.

The event is a chance for people to get back to this rhythm, bedding down soon after the sun goes down and then waking up at dawn.

Celebrate the Festival of Sleep Day by switching off devices and taking some time to sleep instead of always being on the go. Practice a sleep hygiene routine to help the body and brain be ready for the evening, darkness and sweet, sweet sleep.

Learn About the Importance of Sleep

Sleep is a basic human function, and helps our bodies to regain energy for the next day, keeping our mind alert and ready for action.

Having a lack of sleep can be fatal to the human body and mind, effects caused by little to no sleep over an extended period of time.

For instance, lack of sleep in the modern world can cause people to get into vehicular accidents, which happen daily in large numbers.

In addition, lack of sleep can dumb you down. As we all know, sleep plays a critical role in our thinking and learning processes. Lack of sleep can impair attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently.

Also, sleep helps to retain memories of the day’s experience. This makes sleep especially important for students, from those in college to those simply trying to learn a new language on their own.

Remember Benefits of Sleep

Research suggests that our brains are highly active when we close our eyes at night. Data indicate that sleep is when we process everything we learned during the day and consolidate memories.

Often people go to sleep, unable to figure out the answer to a problem and then wake up in the morning with the answer.

Probably the most dangerous effect from having a long term lack of sleep is that it can cause many and deadly health problems. Here are some examples of these problems:

Heart Disease
Heart Attack
Heart Failure
Irregular Heartbeat
High Blood Pressure
Stroke
Diabetes

Learn About Festival of Sleep Day

Festival of Sleep Day was encouraged so that people could enjoy some relaxation and much-needed “shut-eye” after the holiday period.

During the Christmas period, we tend to do a lot of partying and not a lot of resting. The Festival of Sleep Day ensures that you have all of the time that you need to recoup and recover. As you will discover in the upcoming sections, this is incredibly important.

There are a number of different steps you can take to make sure that you get a good night’s sleep. This includes evaluating your bedroom.

It needs to be a place that is calming and soothing. The temperature needs to be just right as well. It is also important to try and go to sleep around the same time every evening and wake up at roughly the same time, even on weekends. This will help your body to get into a routine.

History of Festival of Sleep Day

This event was clearly founded by someone who had a profound and deep love of sleep, establishing a celebration of the activity of sleep itself.

Sleep is one of the most fascinating phenomena there is. The more researchers probe it, the more unanswered (and possibly unanswerable) questions they find. It is still unclear why we need to sleep or where we go when we dream.

Sleep touches on essential matters of metaphysics. For some, consciousness, mind, and thought are purely emergent properties of the physical brain.

Our dreams are merely manifestations of neural activity, just as water’s wetness is a consequence of the configuration of oxygen and hydrogen atoms. For others, sleep is evidence of the dualistic nature of reality.

There’s the physical world, and then there’s the realm of subjective experience. When we dream, we experience thoughts and ideas in another universe, distinct from the one we call home.

In recent years, sleep has come under attack. Historically, humans evolved to wake up with the break of day and go to sleep with the sun’s setting. Researchers have found evidence for this in the way that our sleep hormones work.

The brain releases stress hormones in high quantities with the sun rising in the morning, and more relaxing chemicals as the sun goes down. Interestingly, though, this rhythm continues, even when people spend long periods underground without seeing the sun. It seems hard-wired into our bodies.

The modern world, however, isn’t kind to sleep. We no longer get the estimated seven to nine hours that our ancestors could look forward to every night. Stress and industrial working patterns mean that the bulk of humanity is experiencing shut-eye deprivation.

Festival of Sleep Day is a way to push back against this trend. Organizers want to highlight the importance of sleep and its necessity for people’s health and productivity!

Bonus: Bed Buying Guide

Another way to celebrate the Festival of Sleep Day is by treating yourself to a brand new bed! After all, this is the best way to make sure you get that much-needed sleep, right? A bedroom is the most personal room in an entire house.

Therefore, it is vitally important that it is a room which is decorated in a style and design that you love and that stays true to who you are.

You will be spending the majority of your time here so you will want it to be an area you enjoy. The most important and stand out piece of furniture in your bedroom is obviously your bed. It is of the utmost importance that you pick a bed which is comfortable, long-lasting and, of course, looks good.

To ensure that you pick a great bed, you obviously need to opt for a great company. The first thing you obviously need to think about is the price of the bed you are considering buying.

You should have a look on a whole host of websites and see if the company in question falls into a similar price bracket as the others you have searched. After all, you do not want to be ripped off and end up spending more for your bed then you should have to.

Nowadays, you can pick up a comfortable and robust bed for less! The next thing you need to make sure you find out is the reputation of the company in question. You need to ensure that they have left a good impression on all of their previous customers.

A quick online search should provide relevant websites and forums with customer reviews. You can check to see if the beds were delivered on time, if they looked the same as they did on the picture on the website, if they were of high quality etc. It’s a great way to celebrate Festival of Sleep Day!

Festival of Sleep Day FAQs

Why is January 3rd chosen as Festival of Sleep Day?

January 3rd is a well-timed choice. After New Year’s celebrations, people often find themselves exhausted and looking to reset their energy for the new year.

This date sits perfectly between the festive chaos and the return to routine, allowing folks to start fresh with a well-earned nap.

Is sleepwalking common, and can Festival of Sleep Day help?

Sleepwalking, often linked to irregular sleep schedules, affects around 3.6% of adults worldwide.

While it may seem harmless, it can lead to dangerous situations. Festival of Sleep Day encourages consistent, relaxing sleep habits, which can help reduce sleepwalking episodes.

Did ancient cultures celebrate sleep differently?

Yes! In many ancient cultures, sleep was segmented. People often had “first” and “second” sleeps, with a period of wakefulness in between for quiet activities.

This practice, known as “biphasic sleep,” persisted until the Industrial Revolution reshaped nighttime routines.

What unusual ways do people celebrate the Festival of Sleep Day?

In Japan, some companies allow employees to nap at work, even providing “nap pods” to promote productivity.

In France, sleep-friendly events such as group napping sessions and sleep-focused workshops are popular, adding a communal aspect to the Festival of Sleep Day.

Is there a connection between sleep and dreams on Festival of Sleep Day?

Absolutely! Around 80% of dreams occur during the REM phase, which is critical for memory and emotional processing.

Festival of Sleep Day offers a chance to indulge in this REM-heavy, dream-filled sleep cycle, which can lead to more vivid dreams for participants.

How does diet affect sleep quality, especially on this day?

Eating late at night can disrupt sleep by kickstarting metabolism, which leads to more active, sometimes vivid dreams.

Some use Festival of Sleep Day to experiment with “sleep-friendly” foods like cherries, almonds, or kiwi, which may promote melatonin production and support deeper sleep.

Are there myths about sleep that Festival of Sleep Day could debunk?

Yes, one common myth is that the “eight-hour sleep rule” applies to everyone.

In reality, sleep needs vary by individual. Some feel refreshed with less, while others need more than eight hours. Festival of Sleep Day serves as a reminder to prioritize quality sleep over rigid schedules.

Is it possible to oversleep on Festival of Sleep Day?

Though tempting, oversleeping may lead to sleep inertia, a groggy feeling upon waking.

Sleep experts recommend a balanced approach, like a restful 20-minute nap or sticking to one’s usual sleep duration, to avoid sleep inertia while still enjoying the holiday.

Can you celebrate with pets on Festival of Sleep Day?

Definitely! Pets like cats and dogs also experience sleep cycles and even dreams.

Many pet owners enjoy Festival of Sleep Day by cozying up with their pets, who happily join in the extra nap time, twitching and running in their dreams.

What role does light play in sleep, and how can it enhance this holiday?

Light plays a huge role in regulating sleep-wake cycles. Blocking blue light before bed on Festival of Sleep Day can improve sleep quality.

Some people use candlelight or dim lamps to enhance relaxation and prepare the brain for restful sleep, enhancing the day’s sleep-centric activities.

See what else is happening…

There’s always more going on every month at Days Of The Year. Here are our favorites this month!

Festival of Sleep Day