If you think about it, one of the most important things in life is doing nothing and going to sleep. Without sleep we turn into angry, stressed zombies with no energy.
Without sleep we can lose motivation, experience mental health and physical problems and have issues at work and in our personal life.
When you oversleep you miss important deadlines and become lazy. When you under sleep your whole life gets worse.
That’s why the latest findings from a large sleep study is bad news. The poll was commissioned by LIFEAID and done by OnePoll.
It reveals that Americans aren’t getting nearly enough sleep every night due to stress and being upset.
Not getting enough sleep then makes them more stressed and upset. It’s a vicious cycle.
Insomniac Nation
The new study shows that only 8% of Americans say they feel totally refreshed and resting after sleep and that people are only getting 5 hours of sleep per night on average. A whopping 61% of respondents said they don’t remember the last time they felt really well rested and 22% said they never feel well rested enough.
Those who have issues sleeping say they can’t sleep due to stress (68%) and 29% say they are more introverted.
Other interesting results from the study show that 64% can only fall asleep in very particular circumstances and 32% say they’d trade more sleep for something they have to get done the next day if it were up to them.
Those who sleep best say they are extroverted and don’t let stress get to them. But for many of us that’s not an option and natural or prescribed remedies are sometimes necessary including things like chamomile tea or melatonin.
Haven’t been to sleep yet. All I can think abt is… Whew! Lord take the wheel 🙏🏾
— Travor Spicer (@Spiceeeee__) March 28, 2021
Sleeplessness is a Serious Problem
Sleeplessness causes all sorts of problems, like I was listing above. Many people in this new study said that the constant negativity of the pandemic and tense political situation are keeping them up at night and 61 percent said they have trouble falling asleep three or more times per week.
The thing is that 39% of Americans say they won’t take pills or medicine to help sleep because they don’t trust that they’re safe and don’t want to become reliant on them.
As LIFEAID co-founder Orion Melehan said of the results:
“The past 11 months have given all of us plenty of highly stressful reasons to stay awake at night. Coupled with factors like working from home or even unemployment, homeschooling and the loss of our usual exercise routines, our individual circadian rhythms and the quality of our personal sleep are all over the map. Now, there’s Daylight Savings and World Sleep Day, and it’s clear the importance of getting a good night’s sleep is more important than ever before.”
The majority of poll respondents agreed that sleep is crucial for feeling well and having better relationships and 49% agreed their emotional wellbeing would be better if they could get better and more restful sleep. A very large 76% admitted to taking naps during the day.
As someone who is a dedicated daily napper I would have been one of that number if the poll had surveyed me.
The good news from this poll is that 68% of the respondents said they are planning to try to get a better sleep in 2021.
“As dramatically as our lives have changed, the factors that enable us to enjoy a restorative night’s sleep remain the same and rely on a good diet, some exercise, and managing stress and anxiety properly. And if we’re having consistent problems with sleeping well, we also need to be more curious about sleep aids, including meditation or supplements,” Melehan said.
