Sleep Statistics

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

• In a normal sleep period, a person experiences four to six sleep cycles.¹
• REM sleep makes up between 20-25% of total sleep² in healthy adults.
• On average, we spend about two hours per night dreaming.³
• The key driver of the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock, is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain, which is made up of around 20,000 neurons⁴.
• Body temperature during sleep drops by one to two degrees fahrenheit⁵.
• Metabolism drops by around 15%⁶ during NREM sleep.

Statistics About Insufficient Sleep

• Almost half of all Americans⁸ say they feel sleepy during the day between three and seven days per week.
• 35.2% of all adults in the U.S.⁷report sleeping on average for less than seven hours per night.
• At 43%, Hawaii has the highest percentage⁹ of adults who get seven or fewer hours of sleep per night. South Dakota, at 26%¹⁰, 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%¹¹. Camden, New Jersey¹² and Detroit, Michigan¹³ 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 little¹⁴ 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 ¹⁵sleep 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 ¹⁶reported 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 industries¹⁷, 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 sleep¹⁸ than people with no history of military service.

Statistics About Sleep Disorders

• Women have a lifetime risk of insomnia that is as much as 40% higher²¹ than that of men. 
• As many as 15-30% of males²² and 10-30% of females²³ meet a broad definition of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
• Using a more limited definition of OSA, the condition affects 2-9% of adults in the U.S.²⁴.
• A 10% increase in body weight can equate to a six-fold rise in the risk for OSA²⁵.
• About .9% of adults over 40 years old²⁶ experience central sleep apnea (CSA).
• Restless leg syndrome (RLS) affects between 5-10% of adults and 2-4% of children²⁷.
• Between 135,000 and 200,000 people²⁸ in the U.S have narcolepsy.

• Up to 66% of people talk in their sleep³⁰ at some point in their lives, but only 17% of people say it has happened in the last three months.
• In the last 12 months, roughly 5% of children and 1.5% of adults³¹ have had an episode of sleepwalking.
• Around 8% of people³² have an episode of sleep paralysis during the course of their life.

Statistics About Sleep Disruptions

• For adults over age 40, 69% of men and 76% of women³³ get up to go to the bathroom at least once per night.
• About 16% of full-time workers³⁴ in the U.S. worked evening or overnight shifts in 2017 and 2018.
• Jet lag most often affects people when they fly across five or more time zones³⁵ with jet lag worsening the more time zones that they cross.
• Jet lag is worse when you fly eastwards because our circadian cycle is slightly longer than 24 hours.
• Around 57% of men and 40% of women³⁶ in the U.S. snore.
• 41% of primary care patients³⁷ say that they experienced night sweats in the last month.
• Nearly 60% of people with frequent heartburn³⁸ say that it has a negative effect on their sleep.
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) makes women at least two times as likely to report insomnia-like symptoms³⁹ before and during their period.
• Around 50% of pregnant women⁴⁰ experience insomnia-like symptoms.

Statistics About Sleep in Children and Teens

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

• In a normal sleep period, a person experiences four to six sleep cycles.¹
• REM sleep makes up between 20-25% of total sleep² in healthy adults.
• On average, we spend about two hours per night dreaming.³
• The key driver of the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock, is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain, which is made up of around 20,000 neurons⁴.
• Body temperature during sleep drops by one to two degrees fahrenheit⁵.
• Metabolism drops by around 15%⁶ during NREM sleep.

Statistics About Insufficient Sleep

• Almost half of all Americans⁸ say they feel sleepy during the day between three and seven days per week.
• 35.2% of all adults in the U.S.⁷report sleeping on average for less than seven hours per night.
• At 43%, Hawaii has the highest percentage⁹ of adults who get seven or fewer hours of sleep per night. South Dakota, at 26%¹⁰, 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%¹¹. Camden, New Jersey¹² and Detroit, Michigan¹³ 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 little¹⁴ 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 ¹⁵sleep 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 ¹⁶reported 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 industries¹⁷, 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 sleep¹⁸ than people with no history of military service.

Statistics About Sleep Disorders

• Women have a lifetime risk of insomnia that is as much as 40% higher²¹ than that of men. 
• As many as 15-30% of males²² and 10-30% of females²³ meet a broad definition of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
• Using a more limited definition of OSA, the condition affects 2-9% of adults in the U.S.²⁴.
• A 10% increase in body weight can equate to a six-fold rise in the risk for OSA²⁵.
• About .9% of adults over 40 years old²⁶ experience central sleep apnea (CSA).
• Restless leg syndrome (RLS) affects between 5-10% of adults and 2-4% of children²⁷.
• Between 135,000 and 200,000 people²⁸ in the U.S have narcolepsy.

• Up to 66% of people talk in their sleep³⁰ at some point in their lives, but only 17% of people say it has happened in the last three months.
• In the last 12 months, roughly 5% of children and 1.5% of adults³¹ have had an episode of sleepwalking.
• Around 8% of people³² have an episode of sleep paralysis during the course of their life.

Statistics About Sleep Disruptions

• For adults over age 40, 69% of men and 76% of women³³ get up to go to the bathroom at least once per night.
• About 16% of full-time workers³⁴ in the U.S. worked evening or overnight shifts in 2017 and 2018.
• Jet lag most often affects people when they fly across five or more time zones³⁵ with jet lag worsening the more time zones that they cross.
• Jet lag is worse when you fly eastwards because our circadian cycle is slightly longer than 24 hours.
• Around 57% of men and 40% of women³⁶ in the U.S. snore.
• 41% of primary care patients³⁷ say that they experienced night sweats in the last month.
• Nearly 60% of people with frequent heartburn³⁸ say that it has a negative effect on their sleep.
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) makes women at least two times as likely to report insomnia-like symptoms³⁹ before and during their period.
• Around 50% of pregnant women⁴⁰ experience insomnia-like symptoms.

Statistics About Sleep in Children and Teens

• • How to Sleep With a Cough or a Cold

  Babies need 12-17 total hours of sleep each day⁴¹ depending on their age, and toddlers need 11-14.

• It is recommended that preschool children get 10-13 hours of total sleep daily while school-age kids should sleep 9-11 hours.
• Babies born prematurely may spend around 90% of their day asleep⁴².
• Around 25% of young children⁴³ have sleeping problems or experience excessive daytime sleepiness.
• From the ages of 13 to 19, average total sleep per night drops by 40 to 50 minutes⁴⁴.
• 57.8% of middle schoolers and 72.7% of high school students⁴⁵ get less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age.
• 83% of middle schools and 93% of high schools⁴⁶ in the U.S. start at or before 8:30 a.m.
• Up to 27% of children⁴⁷ have minor and infrequent snoring.
• Roughly half of children between three and six years old⁴⁸ experience nightmares.
• As many as 70% of children⁴⁹ with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have mild to severe sleeping problems

Statistics About the Impact of Insufficient Sleep

• People with severe insomnia are seven times more likely to have work-related accidents⁵² than good sleepers.
• Nurses working 12.5-hour shifts report committing more than three times as many medical errors⁵³ than those working 8.5-hour shifts.

Statistics About Sleep and Mental Health

• 40% of people with insomnia⁵⁴ are believed to also be affected by a mental health disorder.
• Around 75% of adults with depression⁵⁵ suffer from insomnia.
• More than 90% of people with PTSD related to military combat⁵⁶ have been found to have symptoms of insomnia.

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.

• 78% of people⁵⁸ say they are more excited to go to bed if they have fresh-smelling sheets.
• Across a large population of sleepers, 54.1% of total time in bed was spent sleeping on their side⁵⁹, 37.5% sleeping on their back, and 7.3% sleeping on their stomach.

• In healthy adults, caffeine has a half-life of five hours⁶⁰, which means that around half of the caffeine consumed will be eliminated from the body in five hours.
• Drinking more than two servings of alcohol per day for men and more than one serving per day for women has been found to decrease sleep quality by 39.2%⁶¹.
• 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week has been associated with reduced levels of daytime sleepiness⁶² and better concentration even when tired.

Statistics About Sleep Aids

• About 80% of people who take prescription sl⁶³eep medications⁶³ experienced residual effects like oversleeping, feeling groggy, or having a hard time concentrating the next day.
• 8.2% of adults⁶⁴ say they took medication to help them sleep at least four times in the past week.
• 20% of American adults⁶⁵ tried a natural remedy for sleep problems in the last year.
• Sales of melatonin supplements in the U.S. grew from $62M in 2003 to $378M in 2014⁶⁶, an increase of 500%.
• In a study of 31 melatonin supplements sold in stores, 71% were not within 10% of their listed dosage⁶⁷.
• The market for wearable devices, including activity and sleep trackers, is expected to reach over $62B in 2021⁶⁸.
• In a study of adults in the U.S., 28.2% said that they used a smartphone app⁶⁹xTrusted SourceNational Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov to help keep track of their sleep.