If you’ve been struggling with insomnia lately, you’re not alone. A new Gallup poll released Monday shows that for the first time in the survey’s history, a majority of U.S. adults report not getting enough sleep. While there may be a variety of reasons for this condition, many people who have trouble sleeping also report feeling constantly stressed.
Gallup has been asking Americans about their sleep quality since 2001. At the time, about 54% of Americans said they regularly got the amount of sleep they needed, and 45% said they would feel better if they got more sleep.but with this Latest opinion pollsAccording to the investigation conducted in December 2023, the situation has basically changed drastically. Now, 57% of Americans say they need more sleep, while 42% say they’re sleeping well.
While this question relies on people’s subjective experience of sleep, other data collected by Gallup supports this trend. For example, in 2013, about 14% of adults reported getting 5 hours or less of sleep per night; by 2023, this number had increased to 20%.
Gallup also asked people about their daily stress levels. In 2017, about 44% of Americans said they often felt stressed; by 2023, 49% will say the same. Americans’ stress levels have been getting progressively worse for some time after a significant decline in 2003, when 33% of people said they often felt stressed. There may be several factors that explain our collective sleep deprivation, but poor sleep and increased stress often contribute to our sleep deprivation. hand in hand, included in the latest poll. About 63% of people who felt sleep deprived also reported feeling frequently stressed, while only 31% of people who got enough sleep also reported feeling often stressed.
“Gallup polls and other research show strong links between sleep, stress and overall health,” Gallup writers Sarah Fioroni and Dan Foy wrote in a stated in the report. article The findings will be discussed Monday. “So the impact of both trends on American health could be dramatic.”
These sleep and stress issues don’t affect everyone equally. For example, more women than men report being more stressed and sleep deprived, with women under 50 particularly suffering from both conditions. In contrast, older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to get enough sleep.
The link between poor sleep and excessive stress goes both ways. One can contribute to the other and vice versa. The authors did note that the apparent lack of sleep among young women appears to correlate well with other data suggesting that they have recently experienced relatively high levels of depression and other mental health problems.
Ideally, the best way to reverse these trends is to ensure that Americans, especially young people, have more time to sleep and relax. But this may be easier said than done.