There Are Major Regional Sleep Differences in the U.S.

New research indicates that there are vast differences in overall sleep quantity around the U.S.

The research, conducted by the University of Arizona, asked 432,000 people across the country, “During the past 30 days, for about how many days have you felt you did not get enough rest or sleep?”

Those who cited poor sleep on fewer than 15 days were placed in one group, and those who slept poorly on 15 or more days were placed in another.  The researchers said that after 15 days of poor sleep out of 30, it was safe to consider a subject sleep deprived.

The responses were then organized by county, and used to discern where in the country people slept well or slept poorly.  The results were very interesting.

As you can see by the map above, created by the Washington Post, there are “poor sleep hotspots” around the country, but the part of our nation that sleeps the worst is clearly in a swath that cuts through West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and part of Tennessee.

The study used data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. The researchers used data from 2009 because they started their analyses in 2010 when it was released.

Source: The Washington Post