Sleep plays an integral role in health. A good night’s sleep empowers the body to recover and lets you wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day.
Unfortunately, many people have sleep problems and don’t get the rest that they need. Insufficient sleep and poor quality sleep can be due to diverse factors including sleep disorders, medical conditions, and mental health. Sleep issues affect people of all ages, and its impacts can be far-reaching.
While sleep is too complex to sum up with only numbers, reviewing basic facts and figures about sleep can help you understand how sleep works, why it’s important, and the depth of the sleep deprivation problem in the United States.
Statistics About How We Sleep
Statistics About Insufficient Sleep
- Adults between 18 and 64 need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Adults over 65 need 7-8 hours.
- 35.2% of all adults in the U.S.report sleeping on average for less than seven hours per night.
- Almost half of all Americans say they feel sleepy during the day between three and seven days per week.
- At 43%, Hawaii has the highest percentage of adults who get seven or fewer hours of sleep per night. South Dakota, at 26%, has the lowest percentage.
- Of major cities in the United States, Boulder, Colorado has the lowest percentage of adults who sleep less than seven hours per night, coming in at 24.2%. Camden, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan tie for the highest rate, with 49.8% of adults in those cities reporting short sleep.
- When compared to whites, black adults are almost twice as likely to describe sleeping too little and are 60% more likely to report sleeping too much.
- After adjusting for age, insufficient sleep by race and ethnicity shows clear differences with 46.3% of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, 45.8% of black people, 40.4% of American Indians/Alaska Natives, 37.5% of Asians, 34.5% of Hispanics, and 33.4% of whites reporting getting less than seven hours of sleep.
- 42.6% of single parents sleep less than seven hours per night compared to 32.7% of adults in two-parent homes and 31% of adults with no children.
- 32.6% of working adults reported sleeping six or fewer hours per night in 2017-2018, up from 28.4% in 2008-2009.
- More than 44% of workers in production-focused industries, such as factory workers and plant operators, report getting seven hours of sleep or less per night.
- Active duty service members are 34% more likely to report insufficient sleep than people with no history of military service.
Statistics About Sleep Disorders
Statistics About Sleep Disruptions
Statistics About Sleep in Children and Teens
Statistics About the Impact of Insufficient Sleep
Statistics About Sleep and Mental Health
Statistics About Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene is a term that includes both the bedroom environment and sleep-related habits. Optimizing sleep hygiene can play an important role in addressing sleep insufficiency.
Statistics About Sleep Aids
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