Oct 09, 2024
One in five polled Americans say they "rarely or never" wake up feeling well-rested — and a new survey has identified the factors keeping sleep at bay.
Stress in general was labeled as the biggest culprit, negatively impacting 74% of Americans’ sleep routines, according to the survey by U.S. News & World Report.
"More specifically, we gathered data on the bedtime worries keeping Americans awake at night," Julia Forbes, sleep editor at U.S. News 360 Reviews, told Fox News Digital.
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Based on the survey of 1,200 American adults, these were the biggest concerns that kept Americans from drifting off in 2023.
The 2023 list of worries was almost identical to 2022, with the Russia-Ukraine war taking the last spot.
The cost of living woes are not surprising, according to Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., and author of the book "Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days."
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"This is often top of mind for people, including many of my patients," Alpert, who was not involved in the survey, told Fox News Digital.
"As the prices of goods and services continue to increase, so do people's worries about making ends meet."
The psychotherapist also commented on climate change making the list.
"People who worry about climate, some might argue, don't have more pressing concerns, such as how to pay their bills or if their child might be involved in a school shooting," Alpert said.
"My guess is that the climate change worriers might inhabit more blue than red states, and politics is at play here."
Dr. Chris Mosunic, chief clinical officer at Calm in San Francisco, said it’s "no surprise" that the election is one of the top worries keeping Americans up at night.
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"When it comes to getting a good night's rest, especially in moments of heightened anxiety like the election, practicing healthy habits is crucial to winding down at night," he told Fox News Digital.
Alpert agreed that the election continues to be a source of stress for his patients, as they have a difficult time shutting it off at night.
Although COVID has "come and gone to some degree," Dr. Alex Dimitriu, sleep medicine specialist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, noted that war and gun violence are on the rise.
"This fits with my perception in my work as well, that ever since COVID, the world has caught a ‘fever,’" Dimitriu, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
"With increased social and geopolitical unrest, we are hearing more violence in the news and certainly see its impact on sleep."
In addition to racing thoughts, certain habits and activities can make it more difficult to get the optimal quality and quantity of sleep.
Dr. Chris Winter, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with Mattress Firm in Houston, Texas, said that inconsistent schedules has a rightful spot at the top of the list.
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"More and more research is coming out that shows even when sleep quality is sound and sleep amounts are adequate, inconsistency of sleep timing can lead to a large range of negative health consequences — heart disease, weight gain, cognitive decline and even cancer," Winter, who also was not involved in the survey, told Fox News Digital.
Nearly 90% of adults and 75% of children keep at least one electronic device in their bedrooms, according to a poll taken by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
Dimitriu shared some potential reasons that so many people watch TV at bedtime.
"It's possible that we are exhausted from life, or underslept, and thus clock out while watching TV," he said.
"Or it may be that we need to keep the TV or smartphone on until the very last minute, to avoid the silence before sleep, when the thoughts about reality start to drift in."
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Staying up all night deserves to be higher on the list, according to Winter. "It’s a terrible situation to be in from a sleep, health and safety perspective," he said.
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