Most in new poll say they would feel better if they slept more: Gallup

The majority of Americans, 57%, say they would feel better if they slept more, compared to just 42% who say they get as much sleep as they need, according to the study. a Gallup poll released Monday.

The poll, conducted Dec. 1-20, marked the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 2001 that a minority of respondents reported getting enough sleep.

The last time the poll was conducted, in 2013, the numbers were nearly reversed: 56 percent said they got as much sleep as they needed, compared to 43 percent who said they would feel better if they slept more.

Women have been consistently less likely than men to report getting enough sleep. In 2023, 48% of men and 36% of women said they got enough sleep. In 2013, 60% of men and 52% of women reported the same.

Generally, older Americans were more likely to report getting enough sleep, although the youngest age group, ages 18 to 29, and the second youngest, ages 30 to 49, reported similar numbers in surveys. 2013 and 2004.

In the December 2023 survey, all age groups saw a decline from 2013 in the percentage of respondents who reported getting enough sleep, but the youngest age group did not see as steep a decline as the others.

The percentage of adults getting enough sleep fell from 70 percent in 2013 to 55 percent in 2023 among those aged 65 and over; fell from 63% to 40% among adults aged 50 to 64; fell from 46% to 34% among adults aged 30 to 49; and fell 6 points, from 48% to 42% among adults aged 18 to 29.

The new survey also measured changes in the actual hours of sleep respondents reported getting each night. In 2023, only 26% of respondents reported that they typically slept the recommended eight or more hours per night, compared to 34% in 2013.

The percentage of respondents who say they sleep five hours or less per night increased in 2023 to 20 percent, compared to 14 percent in 2013.

The survey also looked at trends in reported stress levels. Nearly half, 49 percent, in the 2023 survey reported feeling stress “often” in everyday life, up from 44 percent in 2017 and 40 percent in 2007.

Women continue to report that they feel more stressed than men — a trend noted in the previous 2017 survey. In 2023, 53% of women and 45% of men say they frequently experience stress in their daily lives.

In 2007, reported stress levels were approximately equal between women (39 percent) and men (41 percent), but in 2017, this was no longer true, as 49 percent of women and 39 percent of men reported frequently experiencing daily stress.

The survey was conducted by telephone with 1,013 adults with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

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