Sleep Statistics | annotated by Peter

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A good night’s sleep empowers us to recover and to 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 the result of diverse factors, including sleep disorders, medical conditions, and mental health. Sleep issues affect people of all ages, and their impacts touch many parts of our lives.

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 how widespread sleep issues are.

Statistics About How We Sleep

On average, we spend about two hours per night dreaming.
In a normal sleep period, a person experiences four to six sleep cycles.
REM sleep makes up 20% to 25% of total sleep in healthy adults.
80.7% of U.S. adults have taken a nap of 10 minutes or longer in the past three months, according to a survey by Sleep Cycle and SleepFoundation.org. | Learn more
The key driver of the body’s circadian rhythm is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain, which is made up of around 20,000 neurons .
7% of adults nap every day, according to a survey by Sleep Cycle and SleepFoundation.org.

The average nap is about one hour, or 60.2 minutes, according to a survey by Sleep Cycle and SleepFoundation.org.
Metabolism drops by around 15% during NREM sleep.
53.2% of U.S. adults sleep with their bedroom windows closed, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey, and 60.9% sleep with their door closed. | Learn more

Statistics About Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Inequity

Short sleep, or less than seven hours of sleep a night, is 10.7% more common among Black adults than whites. Oversleeping, or sleeping more than nine hours per night, is 1.4% more common among Blacks versus whites.
Adults ages 18 and 64 need seven or more hours of sleep per night. Adults ages 65 or older need seven to eight hours.
More than one-third of U.S. adults sleep less than seven hours per night, on average.
Among all states, Hawaii has the highest percentage of adults (43.2%) who get seven or fewer hours of sleep each night. | Learn more

Among U.S. counties, Boulder County in Colorado has the lowest percentage of adults (23.2%) who get seven or fewer hours of sleep each night.
4.8 of 10 U.S. of workers say they are regularly tired during the day, and 6.9 of 10 say they are tired when their work day is done, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
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.
More than twice as many of SIDS deaths occur among non-Hispanic Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native babies per 100,000 live births than non-Hispanic white babies. | Learn more
51.2% of short-sleepers say that sleep problems run in their family, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
Adults who live near airports are 23% more likely to report insufficient sleep , according to a survey of women.
Active-duty service members are 34% more likely to report insufficient sleep than people with no history of military service.
Insufficient sleep has an estimated economic impact of more than $411 billion each year in the United States alone.
Lack of sleep or poor sleep results in unplanned absences from work that cost the U.S. economy $44.6 billion each year .
Drowsy driving is responsible for more than 6,000 fatal car crashes every year in the United States.

Statistics About Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, and Other Sleep Disorders

According to estimates, 50 million to 70 million people in the U.S. have ongoing sleep disorders .
9% to 15% of U.S. adults have insomnia that affects their daytime activities.
Women are 40% more likely to have insomnia than men are.
Having a sleep disorder during pregnancy may increase the odds of a premature birth by 33.9% . | Learn more
76% of U.S. adults with a sleep issue or disorder share a household with at least one other person who does, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey.
55% of nurses say they experience insomnia. | Learn more
32% of people snore, according to a survey of visitors to SleepFoundation.org. 20.6% of them have been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
About 44% of men and 28% of women snore.
17% of children ages 2 to 14 snore.
A 10% increase in body weight may make you six times more likely to have OSA.
Some 0.9% of adults ages 40 and older experience central sleep apnea (CSA).
You may exert as much as 250 pounds of force of force when you grind your teeth. | Learn more
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects 5% to 10% of adults and 2% to 4% of children . | Learn more
1 in every 2,000 adults has narcolepsy. In the U.S., that equates to about 165,950 people.
People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are 37.6% more likely than others to have a sleep disorder.
66.8% of adults say they have talked in their sleep .
22.4% of adults say they have had a sleepwalking episode.
7.6% of people have had an episode of sleep paralysis.

Statistics About Sleep Disruptions

69% of men ages 40 and older and 76% of women in that age group get up to go to the bathroom at least once per night.

Jet lag most often affects people when they fly across five or more time zones with jet lag worsening the more time zones that they cross.
41% of primary care patients say that they experienced night sweats at least once in a monthlong period.
94.8% of adults lose at least an hour of sleep to pain in a given week, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more

63% of U.S. adults with heartburn say it has affected their ability to sleep well.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) makes women at least two times as likely to report insomnia-like symptoms before and during their period.
Around 50% of pregnant women experience insomnia-like symptoms.
30% of couples who started sleeping in separate beds cited their sleep habits as the reason, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey | Learn more

Statistics About How Children and Teens Sleep

Babies up to 1 year old need 12 to 16 hours of sleep each day.
Children 1 to 2 years old need 11 to 14 hours of sleep each day, and children ages 3 to 5 need 10 to 13 hours.
Children ages 6 to 12 years old need nine to 12 hours of sleep each day.
20% to 30% of children have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep .
Babies born prematurely may spend around 90% of their day asleep .
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of death for babies younger than 1 year old.
From the ages of 13 to 19, average total sleep per night drops by 40 to 50 minutes .
57.8% of middle schoolers and 72.7% of high school students get less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age.
30.8% of parents and guardians say their school-age children are not getting enough sleep, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
Up to 27% of children have minor and infrequent snoring.
According to estimates, 10% to 50% of children ages 3 to 6 have occasional nightmares.
As many as 70% of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have mild to severe sleeping problems.
Children who lose 39 minutes of sleep or more have a harder time coping at school and typically feel worse than those getting enough sleep.
77.9% of adults say getting enough sleep is more important than being successful at a video game, compared to 60.1% of adolescents, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more

Adolescents push their bedtime back by 16 minutes for every 30 minutes they spend playing video games.
Kids share a bedroom in 70.4% of U.S. households with two or more children, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey of parents. | Learn more

Statistics About Sleep and Mental Health

70% of adults with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) feel tired in the winter, compared to 44.2% of those without it, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
40% of people with insomnia may have a diagnosable mental-health condition.
83% of adults with depression may have at least one symptom of insomnia.
58.2% of respondents with SAD use sleep aids, compared to 26.3% of those without SAD, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey.
54.4% of respondents to a SleepFoundation.org survey say stress and anxiety were the top reasons they have trouble falling asleep. Sunday was the night of the week in which they had the most trouble falling asleep. | Learn more
As much as 91% of U.S. adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have symptoms of insomnia.
80% of people with PTSD have nightmares within three months of experiencing trauma.
Wildfires can cause as much as 134.9 hours of lost sleep per year for a U.S. adult, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. 76.6% of adults who have lost sleep to wildfires cite anxiety as the reason. | Learn more

72.5% of wildfire survivors experience insomnia.

Statistics About Sleep Hygiene

On average, U.S. adults sleep on their side 54.1% of the time , on their back 37.5% of the time, and on their stomach 7.3%.
58.3% of adults who shower or bathe before bed say that doing so helps them sleep, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
Watching TV is the top bedtime ritual among U.S. adults, with 52.7% of respondents to a SleepFoundation.org saying they do it before bed. 50.4% of people who watch TV before bed get less than seven hours of sleep. | Learn more

Drinking more than two servings of alcohol per day for men and more than one serving per day for women can decrease sleep quality by 39.2% .
51.2% of U.S. adults who sleep more than normal over Thanksgiving cite overeating and alcohol consumption as the reason, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
Adults in the U.S. spend 3 hours, 30 minutes on social media before bed every night, according to a OneCare Media survey for SleepFoundation.org. | Learn more
YouTube is the most popular social media platform used before bed, with 73.8% of SleepFoundation.org survey respondents using it for at least one minute for an average of 48 minutes a night.

On average, adults snack before bedtime 3.9 nights each week, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. Adults who snack on seeds and nuts before bed sleep 32 minutes more, on average, than those who snack on chips, crackers, or pretzels. | Learn more

Statistics About Melatonin and Sleep Aids

55.8% of adults have consumed at least one sleep aid in the past month, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. 49.1% of adults have used melatonin, which is the most popular sleep aid. | Learn more
The average melatonin dosage for adults is 4.8 milligrams, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. 71.2% of adults take 5 milligrams of melatonin or less. | Learn more

79.4% of adults who take prescription sleep medication experience a residual effect such as oversleeping, feeling groggy, or having a hard time concentrating the next day.
On average, U.S. adults who take melatonin do it 211 days each year, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. 38.6% of adults take melatonin every day.
8.2% of adults say they took medication to help them sleep at least four times in the past week.
20% of U.S. adults use marijuana or cannibidiol (CBD) as a sleep aid. | Learn more
88% of adults who take melatonin say it helps them fall asleep faster, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey.
23.4% of U.S. adults have taken Benadryl, or diphenhydramine, as a sleep aid in the past month, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. | Learn more
Melatonin use increased 425% between 1999 and 2018 among U.S. adults.
An analysis of U.S. melatonin supplements found that they may include 347% more melatonin per dose than what is on the label. Only 12% of melatonin products’ actual melatonin quantity are within 10% of what is advertised.
Sleep trackers are projected to become a $11.2 billion business by 2028.
28.2% of adults use a cellphone to track their sleep. These include sleep-tracker apps.

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About Our Editorial Team

Written By

Eric Suni, Staff Writer

Eric Suni has over a decade of experience as a science writer and was previously an information specialist for the National Cancer Institute.