Sleep Hours and Feeling Rested

As I peel myself out of bed in the morning after again not going to sleep at a civilized hour, blurry-eyed, I wonder what hours others sleep. Certainly, I must be in the majority. According to the National Health Interview Survey from 2022, I am not. Two-thirds of adults get at least 7 hours of sleep.

Not Sleeping Enough

It’s recommended adults sleep 7 or 8 hours per day. About one third sleep less than that on average.

I hate mornings.

The survey asks how often people feel rested. A meager 15% feel rested every day. I envy them.

How often did you wake up feeling well-rested?

Most people do not feel rested every day.

The thing is, like most people, I know that if I just go to sleep earlier, I’ll feel better in the morning more often.

With Sleep Comes Rest

Although some can sleep less than the recommended hours and still feel rested.

More sleep typically means better rest. But there’s an interesting wrinkle in the last group that sleeps 10 or more hours on average. A greater percentage never feels rested compared to the other sleep hours. Maybe that’s why they’re staying in bed longer.

Will I ever sleep better hours? I don’t know. I’ve always liked the night better than the day. Maybe I’ll sleep more when I’m older.

Notes

The estimates are based on responses to the 2022 National Health Interview Survey, which is run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The charts were made in R and edited in Illustrator.