[2020 Sleep Study]
How have the events of 2020 changed sleep habits in the US?
We spend on average a third of our lives sleeping and most experts agree that the secret to success, whether in life or business, is getting enough sleep.
2020 has been an extremely difficult year for many Americans. From the global pandemic, turbulence of the economy to the impending presidential election in November.
With sleep an important part of everyone’s life, how has it been affected by the events of 2020. Let’s take a look…
How are Americans sleeping?
Studies suggest the average adult needs anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep every night to maintain a healthy lifestyle, with government guidelines recommend a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night.
Our survey revealed a number of interesting results about people’s sleep habits in 2020…
- 44% of Americans are now not getting the minimum guideline of 7 hours sleep per night (compared to 31% at the start of the year).
- 80% of Americans have had their sleep negatively affected worrying about Covid-19.
- 30% of Americans stated they're losing sleep over the actions of President Trump in 2020.
- 27% of Americans listed concerns about a peaceful transition of power if Trump is not reelected as greatly or moderately impacting their sleep.
- 36% of Americans are losing sleep over the opening of schools during the Coronavirus pandemic.
- So far in 2020, Americans have seen a decline in the amount of sleep they are getting. Dropping from 6.96 hours per night to 6.71 hours per night.
- Women have been affected more than men. They are currently getting 5% less sleep than they were at the start of the year.
- Oklahomans are getting the least sleep out of every state. On average, only sleeping for 5.93 hours per night.
- Alaskans are getting the more sleep out of every state. On average, sleeping for a huge 8.25 hours per night.
What is affecting our sleep?
With so many Americans losing sleep, we asked various questions about what was keeping them up at night. The obvious response that the active global pandemic has kept many people up, with 80% reporting that worrying about the potentially catching Covid-19 has affected their sleep in some way.
The various knock on affects of the pandemic has led to additional sleep loss. With 27% of Americans have greatly affected sleep patterns over schools reopening during the pandemic. And 26% suffered a lot of loss of sleep worrying about the economy following the largest GDP drop in history.
Somewhat related to the pandemic, but also not, the highest individual cause of the highest loss of sleep was reported to be “The actions of President Trump” with almost 30% of Americans reporting losing a lot of sleep because of his actions.
Women have been affected more than men with loss of sleep in 2020, however both sexes are getting less sleep than they were at the start of the year.
Men have lost, on average, 12 minutes of sleep per night. In comparison, women have lost over 16 minutes of sleep per night.
This may not sound like much, but adds up to over 100 hours over the next 12 months.
With 75% of states reporting lower average sleep per night, it highlights the problem is nationwide.
Delaware has reported the highest drop in hours per night sleep, losing 2.16 hours per night since the start of the year, closely followed by Nebraska, losing on average 2 hours of sleep per night.
Oklahoma currently has the lowest average hours of sleep per night, recording just 5.93 hours per night. Which is a drop of over an hour since the start of the year.
Alaskans are currently getting the most sleep, reporting on average 8.25 hours of sleep per night, still top despite a 15 minute per night drop since the start of the year.
How To Get Better Sleep
Here are some important habits that can help improve the quality of your sleep:
- Ensure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing and at a comfortable temperature
- Leave the electronic devices in a different room, such as TVs, computers, and your smartphones
- Be consistent with your routine. Try and go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including the weekends
- Avoid large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime
- Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol within a few hours of your bedtime
- Exercise during the day. Even walking for 20-30 minutes can be enough activity to help you fall asleep more easily
Methodology
We surveyed over 1,000 Americans on various sleep-related questions. We then segmented their responses according to their self-reported demographic information to determine the findings above.
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For more information of the raw data or this survey, please contact [email protected].
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