Forget waking up at dawn: Young Koreans are embracing 'sleep maxxing'
Items used by office worker Kang to get a good night's sleep include, from left, a massager, sleep earplugs, a theanine supplement and a sleep mask. Courtesy of Kang
Forget waking up before dawn to squeeze in another hour of self-improvement. For a growing number of young Koreans, getting ahead now means getting better sleep.
The "miracle morning" trend, which encouraged people to wake up early and devote the extra hours to exercise, studying and other forms of self-development, once swept through Korea. Now, a contrasting wellness trend known as "sleep maxxing" is drawing attention among younger generations.
The term combines "sleep" with "maxxing," internet slang for maximizing or optimizing something. Rather than simply trying to sleep longer, followers seek to improve sleep quality by systematically adjusting everything from daily habits to their bedroom environment.
Kang, a 30-year-old office worker, is among those willing to spend money in pursuit of a better night's sleep. A smartwatch tracks total sleep time and the proportion of deep sleep, while supplements are part of a routine aimed at relaxation. A sleep mask and earplugs have also become bedtime essentials.
"There were many days when I was exhausted but couldn't actually fall asleep once I got into bed," Kang said. "I can't reduce the amount of time I spend working, so I'm trying to properly manage at least the time I have for sleep."
Jung Hye-won, 31, who works at an information technology company, has developed her own "sleep routine." After showering when she gets home from work, she dims the lights and reaches for an e-book instead of her phone.
When her eyes feel tired, she uses a steam eye mask. When her body feels stiff, she uses a massager to relax. Just before getting into bed, she sprays a sleep-inducing fragrance on her bedding.
"It's like warming up before exercising," Jung said. "I'm giving my body a signal that it's time to sleep."
Changes in Park's weekly sleep scores, as measured by a smartwatch / Courtesy of Park
Sleep maxxing focuses less on "how long you sleep" than on "how well you sleep." For some adherents, that means turning sleep into something to be measured, analyzed and optimized.
Park, 35, who experienced sleep problems after leaving a job a year ago and recently found a new one, starts each morning by checking the sleep score recorded on a smartwatch. Lifestyle changes, including giving up caffeine, have been introduced one by one to see how each affects the score.
"I consistently manage the quality of my sleep because I'm worried that poor sleep could interfere with my schedule the next day," Park said.
From ‘sleep when you're dead’ to investing in rest
The rise of sleep maxxing represents a notable shift in a society where sacrificing sleep has long been associated with hard work and ambition. A Korean expression roughly equivalent to "you can sleep when you're dead" reflects an attitude that has often treated sleep as time that could be spent working, studying or improving oneself.
Behind the growing appreciation for rest, however, are chronic fatigue and stress among young Koreans.
According to the "Quality of Life of Youth 2025" report from South Korea's national statistics agency, 32.2 percent of people aged 19 to 34 said they experienced burnout in 2024.
Data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service also show that the number of patients receiving medical treatment for sleep disorders increased from 1.04 million in 2020 to 1.3 million last year.
But efforts to perfect sleep can create a paradox: Trying too hard to sleep well can itself become another source of stress.
"When my sleep score is low, I immediately start worrying that I'm going to feel terrible that day," Park said. "Paying so much attention to the score actually made me become obsessed with sleep."
Jung described a similar pressure.
"If I skip even one part of my bedtime routine, I get anxious that I won't sleep properly," she said.
Experts say increased attention to sleep can be positive but warn against turning rest into yet another performance metric.
"It appears that the pressure to constantly manage oneself amid intense competition has now extended to sleep," said Joo Eun-yeon, a professor of neurology at Samsung Medical Center. "The stronger the thought that you must sleep well becomes, the more alert you can become, which can interfere with sleep."
Joo said sleep naturally varies from day to day and cautioned against becoming overly concerned about nightly scores.
"Rather than letting yourself be swayed by sleep scores, it's important to consistently maintain a regular daily rhythm," she said.
The irony of sleep maxxing may therefore lie in its attempt to optimize something that often comes easiest when people stop trying to control it. For young Koreans who once embraced early mornings as another opportunity for self-improvement, even going to bed has become something to work at.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.