Most in new poll say they’d feel better if they got more sleep: Gallup

A majority of Americans, 57 percent, say they would feel better if they got more sleep, compared to just 42 percent who say they get as much sleep as they need, according to a Gallup survey released Monday.

The poll, conducted from Dec. 1-20, marked the first time since Gallup began asking this 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 got more sleep.

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

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

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

The share of adults getting sufficient sleep dropped from 70 percent in 2013 to 55 percent in 2023 among those ages 65 and older; it dropped from 63 percent to 40 percent among adults ages 50-64; it dropped from 46 percent to 34 percent among adults ages 30-49; and it dropped 6 points, from 48 percent to 42 percent among adults ages 18-29.

The new poll also measured changes in actual hours of sleep respondents reported getting each night. In 2023, only 26 percent of respondents report usually getting the recommended eight or more hours of sleep each night, compared to 34 percent in 2013.

The share of respondents who report getting five hours or less of sleep each night increased in 2023 to 20 percent, up from 14 percent in 2013.

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

Women continue to report feeling more stressed than men — a trend seen in the previous 2017 poll. In 2023, 53 percent of women and 45 percent of men say they frequently experience stress in their daily lives.

In 2007, reported stress levels were roughly even between women (39 percent) and men (41 percent), but by 2017, that was no longer true, as 49 percent of women and 39 percent of men reported frequently experiencing daily stress.

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