Survey: COVID-19 Pandemic is Significantly Reducing Our Sleep

According to new research that compares our sleep habits in January of 2020 to March of the same year, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing our quality of sleep to significantly decline.

“The 2020 State of America’s Sleep” study was conducted by The Better Sleep Council (BSC), the consumer education arm of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA).  Here are some of the key findings that relate directly to sleep:

• In January 2020, 54% of Americans were getting the minimum 7-8 hours of recommended sleep. As of March, fewer than half (49%) did.
• Similarly, in January 2020, over four in 10 Americans described their sleep as poor or fair (43%). As of March, over half of the nation qualified their sleep as poor or fair (52%).
• While about three in 10 Americans woke up feeling rested and refreshed often or frequently before COVID-19 (30% in January 2020), only 2.4 in 10 Americans (24%) did as of March.
• Negative posts on social media relative to sleep jumped from 45% of all sleep-related posts to 73% in March compared to last year.

Also included in the survey were some questions about things that could cause Americans to lose sleep:

• In January 2020, four in 10 (41%) Americans reported feeling stressed often or very often. As of March, over half Americans (53%) felt stressed about COVID-19 often or very often.
• About one-third of the nation felt good about the economy in January 2020 (38%) vs. less than 20% did as of March 2020.
• Lack of confidence in the stock market prevailed in the nation in March (56% of Americans disagree that they have confidence in the stock market vs. 39% in January 2020).

“It’s no surprise that COVID-19 negatively impacted Americans’ health and the extreme two-month sleep shift is alarming,” said Mary Helen Rogers, vice president of marketing and communications for the Better Sleep Council. “However, if we take our findings and help Americans unwind and sleep better during this pandemic, we’ll fulfill our role as the Guardians of America’s Sleep.”