Is sleep important to you? Do you understand its significance? Research carried out by Counting Sheep reveals that the majority of Americans are perplexed about sleep. While they acknowledge its importance, they simultaneously harbor negative … Read more
Is sleep important to you? Do you understand its significance? Research carried out by Counting Sheep reveals that the majority of Americans are perplexed about sleep. While they acknowledge its importance, they simultaneously harbor negative sentiments towards getting their shut-eye. Discover the views of Americans on sleep and if there exists any dissatisfaction regarding the amount of time they actually spend asleep.
When we asked average US citizens what sleep means to them, we got the following results. The majority of the respondents (62%) said that sleep is necessary to recharge and successfully begin a new day. 14% claimed it’s their favorite part of the day while 6% also consider it a personal indulgence.
9% said it’s necessary but more and more elusive and 5% said they don’t have enough time to think about the importance of sleep. Lastly, 3% claimed it’s a necessary evil while 2% said it’s just a waste of time. We can conclude that most of the respondents value sleep; however, there are also people who don’t have enough time to sleep or that sleep simply takes away too much time. The reason behind this is probably the fact that we live in tough economic times and that all employed individuals struggle to complete all their personal and business obligations successfully. In order to complete all these obligations, many people sacrifice their sleep and become sleep deprived.
Since we noticed many Americans have difficulty falling asleep, we asked if they have some strategies they use to meet the sandman faster. More than 50% of the respondents said they just watch TV until they fall asleep. It’s great that this works for them, but it is actually a very bad strategy, because the blue light emitted by electronic devices such as phones, TVs, computers, tablets and similar have a stimulating effect on our brain, and are more likely to awake us than to help us fall asleep.
34% of respondents said they enjoy reading a book or a magazine before they go to sleep. This strategy is good because reading, just as listening to calm music, is an activity that has a relaxing effect on our brain. Other strategies that help us fall asleep are also drinking warm milk/tea (20%) or taking a bath (16%).
Unfortunately, around 24% of Americans who have troubles falling asleep decide to take a sleep medication to meet the sandman. This should only be done in extreme cases of if you under a lot of stress. If you have frequent difficulties to meet the sandman, you should visit a doctor to find out if your Circadian Rhythm is disrupted. Disrupted Circadian Rhythm means you are suffering from a sleeping disorder such as insomnia, hypersomnolence, parasomnia and similar. 10% of the respondents don’t have a strategy and simply believe they are hopeless. If you feel the same as these 10%, you should visit a doctor and try to identify the cause of your sleep deprivation. It is not rare that sleep deprivation is caused by sleeping on a bad mattress, so make sure you inspect it to found out whether it’s the cause of your lack of shut eye.
We decided to reveal to our respondents how much time people spent sleeping during their life. When we told them that people sleep for one-third of their lives 33% said that they love sleeping and would like to sleep more. 24% said that it is a lot of time but we can’t do anything about it because it is a fact we need it.
15% felt sleeping for one-third of our lives is a waste of time. Some of the people we questioned even felt sad or depressed after this fact. Younger examinees, especially millenials were the ones who thought sleeping so much is a waste of their lives and hated the fact, while Generation X and Boomers either appreciate it or feel indifferent about sleep.
No matter what you think of sleep, never forget that we need an average of 8 to 8.5 hours of sleep each night in order to stay healthy. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times is vital for protecting your mental and physical health, and ensuring your quality life is not jeopardized.
Co-founder of Counting Sheep and Sleepaholic