'Do Singaporeans ever go to sleep?' ponders US influencer after getting immediate responses even past midnight

If there's a country that the Sandman doesn't drop by, it could very well be the sleepless city of Singapore.

A viral TikTok video by American influencer and nurse Miki Rai has users talking about why Singaporeans seem to be always awake.

The video, uploaded on March 17, has since garnered over 24,000 likes, more than 230,000 views and just over 1,300 comments.

In the clip, Miki, 26, asks: "I have a question for everybody living in Singapore: Do you guys ever sleep?

"I swear to God, anytime I contact somebody over there, whether it's 11pm, 8am or 3am, I get a response instantaneously!"

She adds with a snap of her fingers: "On WhatsApp, the blue check marks will turn blue, and email responses [are so fast], I've never seen someone so speedy before."

Miki also laughs as she remarks: "Are you guys so excited for life? Is that why you don't sleep? Because I need that enthusiasm."

@mikiraiofficial I bet you’re watching this at 2am #singapore ♬ original sound Miki Rai

While Miki approaches the topic of sleeplessness with bubbly humour, replies to her video were considerably heavier.

"We're just kept awake by fear and stress of life," one TikTok user said.

Another commented: "Nope, we don't sleep. The rat race gives us so much anxiety [that] we can't sleep anymore."

Other users also shared some of the worries they face that keep them up at night, including stress from university assignments, housing issues, financial problems and mental health afflictions such as insomnia.

However, many users, presumably in Singapore, found humour in how accurate Miki's video was and shared timestamps of when they viewed the post in the comments.

Multiple responses indicated that they were watching her TikTok post past midnight, ranging from 12am to well over 4am.

In particular, well-known online personality Mrbrown also commented: "Watching this at 2.58am."

ALSO READ: Only 1 in 4 Singaporeans gets more than 7 hours of sleep each night

A 2022 report by British data analytics firm YouGov states that Singaporeans are among the most sleep-deprived in the world.

"It is most common for Singaporeans to get six to seven hours of sleep a night (39 per cent), followed by four to six hours (32 per cent)," the report claims.

"Residents also generally sleep less than they would like — a substantial eight in ten (80 per cent), wish they had seven or more hours of sleep on the daily, but only a quarter (27 per cent) actually do."

ALSO READ: Singapore is 'Disney World in real life', say US influencers

khooyihang@asiaone.com