Average night’s sleep now less than six hours, survey shows

Houston — The average U.S. adult slept 47 minutes less a night last year than in 2018, results of a recent survey indicate.

Researchers from OnePoll, on behalf of retailer Mattress Firm, surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults about their sleep times and habits. Results of the annual survey show that the respondents’ average night’s sleep decreased to five hours, 30 minutes in 2019 from six hours, 17 minutes in 2018. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults sleep seven to nine hours a night.

The respondents also reported more “terrible” nights of sleep last year, averaging 105 – up from 99 in 2018. The average respondent reported getting 120 nights of “great” sleep, defined as falling asleep right away and sleeping through the night.

Other findings:

• For the average respondent, the number of midday naps rose to 115 in 2019 from 99 in 2018.
• Despite the growth of wearable technology, 70% of the respondents said they did not use wearable devices to track their sleep.
• Favorite activities before going to bed included reading a book (44%), watching a TV show/movie (42%) and taking a vitamin/supplement (36%).

“Practicing a bedtime routine – even something as simple as putting on a sleep mask each night, reading in bed for 20 minutes or practicing the same shower routine at the same time every night – signals to your brain that it’s time to hit the hay,” sleep health expert Sujay Kansagra said in a Jan. 30 press release.