Comparative study on thermal comfort responses and sleep quality between Indonesian and Japanese students during summer in Japan
Wiwik Budiawan (1,2,*), Kazuyo Tsuzuki (3)

1, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Japan
2, Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia
3, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Engineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan

Abstract

This study compared the comfort temperature and sleep quality of Indonesian and Japanese students in Japan during the summer. Eighteen male Indonesian students and sixteen male Japanese students of aged 20-35 years participated for this study. The Indonesian students had been in Japan for approximately six months. Prior to sleep, all participants completed a survey regarding thermal sensation, physical condition, and subjective sleep sensations. Actigraphy was used to monitor sleep. During sleep, the temperature and relative humidity of the participants^ bedrooms were recorded. The findings of this study indicated that Indonesian students^ bedroom temperature and relative humidity were not significantly different than those of Japanese students during the summer, respectively. The majority of Indonesian students prefer neutral, similar to the Japanese, who prefer neutral. According to a thermal comfort survey, Indonesians had a same sensation (slightly comfortable) to Japanese (slightly comfortable). The Griffiths method revealed that the mean comfort temperature for Indonesian and Japanese people in summer was 28.1 degree C and 26.1 degree C. We discovered that Indonesian students duration in bed and sleep minute were significantly shorter than those of Japanese students. However, the sleep rate of Indonesian students was comparable to that of Japanese students. In conclusion, Indonesian students were familiar with hot and humid season. Additionally, Indonesian students^ sleep performance was influenced by culture.

Keywords: Thermal comfort, sleep quality, nationality differences, Indonesian, Japanese, summer season

Topic: Environment, health, and safety system