Sleep is a vital part of living, yet in our bustling society it can be difficult to get the proper amount. The National Sleep Foundation has found most adults need about seven to nine hours of sleep a night, though a survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 35% of participants claiming to get less than seven hours a night. Despite having a good sleep schedule and comfortable bed, getting the right amount of sleep can still be difficult for many more reasons including sleep disorders, stress and discomfort. The following outlines some of the main issues causing a lack of sleep in many Americans.
1. Sleeping Disorders
As many as 50 to 70 million adults have some disorder pertaining to chronic sleep and wakefulness, making undisturbed sleep impossible. Snoring is one of the biggest issues, affecting all ages and genders and approximately 90 million adults on the whole. Insomnia is another, a problem that affects 1 in 4 U.S. workers according to a Harvard study, and costing $63 billion in productivity annually. Even with a comfortable bed and good sleeping position, a sleeping disorder can disrupt sleep for the person who has it and anyone they might be in close proximity to while sleeping, depending on the severity and specifics.
2. Personal Life Circumstances
The problem may not always exist internally; sometimes, the main issue causing lack of sleep is the amount of stress one has in their daily life. Going to bed worried about work or school or other obligations in the morning can make sleep less than peaceful, considering that 43% of Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 report rarely, if ever, getting a good night’s sleep on a weeknight. Having small children that wake frequently throughout the night make staying in your comfortable bed a thing of the past; only 46% of parents with small children feel they get an adequate amount of rest.
3. Lack of Comfort
Less difficult to rectify but still a prevalent issue disrupting good sleep is a lack of comfort while sleeping. In a One Poll survey from 2015, 91% of American adults reported always or frequently waking up in the middle of the night. For many, this may have to do with a mattress that’s too hard, a pillow that doesn?t give them proper neck support or any other combination of things adding to a less than comfortable sleeping experience. For 86% of people in the same survey, this lack of comfort has to do with temperature; either the room is too hot or too cold and they have to kick off or put on more sheets as a result.
For many Americans sleep has become a bit of a struggle against circumstance. Taking charge of one’s health, however, as well as adjusting to comfort, will make for a better night’s rest.
