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UAE Users Sleep Less, But More Efficiently, ŌURA Data Reveals
UAE users of the ŌURA smart ring sleep less than peers in Europe, the US and Asia yet score among the world’s most efficient sleepers.
UAE users of the ŌURA smart ring sleep less than peers in Europe, the US and Asia yet score among the world’s most efficient sleepers, according to new data from the Finnish wearable maker.
Members in the Emirates average 6.85 hours a night, just shy of the global 7.1-hour norm. Even so, they post an average sleep-efficiency score of 85.7%, outpacing markets including the US, UK, Finland and New Zealand. Sleep efficiency tracks how much of the time in bed counts as actual sleep.
The study points to a clear “night-owl” profile. Typical bedtimes land at 12:06 am and wake-ups at 7:57 am. ŌURA said the UAE holds the highest share of late-evening chronotypes in its sample at 6.67%, more than double the global rate.
Gender gaps also stand out. Women sleep nearly 30 minutes longer than men (7.07 vs 6.59 hours) and show slightly higher efficiency and more consistent REM patterns.
“Sleep quality is one of the most important indicators of long-term health, and the UAE is a standout example of protecting quality when life demands make quantity a challenge,” said Doug Sweeny, ŌURA’s chief marketing officer. He argued the country appears to be “working with the body’s natural circadian rhythms rather than against them”.
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For ŌURA, the promotion of its research coincides with a broader retail push in the Gulf region. The company’s fourth-generation smart ring — including a ceramic edition — is now sold through Amazon.ae, Virgin Megastore and Dubai Duty Free, starting at AED 1,599.
Wearables adoption in the UAE has picked up in recent years as governments in the Gulf steer preventative-health and digital tracking strategies. Sleep metrics have become a battleground for brands seeking consumers who care more about recovery than step counts.
News
Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power
Egypt’s telecom regulator says $57.6 billion moved through more than 57 million wallets in six months. And one operator handled 77% of the value.
Egypt’s mobile wallets handled EGP 2.96 trillion ($57.6 billion) in transactions in the first half of 2026, according to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority – a 56% rise on the EGP 1.90 trillion ($36.9 billion) recorded a year earlier. Transactions grew faster still, up 62% to 2.22 billion, while registered wallets climbed 23% to 57.01 million.
On one reading, that is exactly what Egypt’s regulators have been pushing for: a payments system that runs through telecom-linked wallets rather than banknotes. But the same data shows how far cash still reaches into it. Cash withdrawals made up just 12% of the transactions taking money out of wallets, yet 75% of the value withdrawn or spent.
Money arrives mostly from bank accounts: transfers through InstaPay accounted for 78% of deposit transactions and 58% of the value deposited, while incoming remittances from abroad made up 3% of deposit transactions but 10% of their value. Once inside, it largely moves between wallets – wallet-to-wallet transfers accounted for 54% of all transactions and 67% of total value, with mobile and internet top-ups a distant second at 25% of volume. In effect, the wallet is serving as a transfer layer: the place money passes through between the bank account and the banknote.
That layer also runs predominantly through one operator. Vodafone Cash held 53% of registered wallets and 57% of active ones, but handled 69% of transactions and 77% of their value. Its nearest rival, e& money, held 23% of registered wallets but 14% of transaction value; Orange Cash 20% and 8%; WE Pay 4% of wallets. How many of the 57.01 million are active is not stated.
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Adoption is rather uneven in other respects. Men held 38 million wallets, or 67% of the total, against 19 million held by women. Users aged 26 to 45 accounted for half of all wallets, and Cairo alone had 10.6 million, or 19% of the national total, with Giza next at 6.5 million.
The NTRA says it is continuing to work with telecom operators on the regulatory framework for wallet services, part of a wider effort to expand electronic payments and financial inclusion. Its own figures show that effort succeeding on the way in. On the way out, three-quarters of the value still leaves as cash.
Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power
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