Poll reveals that 34% of Americans are losing sleep due to current global events

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We already knew that Americans are having a hard time sleeping (we do run a sleep site, it’s very obvious). We also know that people are stressed out about current events in the news. So that raised the obvious question: are the two linked?

We ran a poll of 1049 randomly-selected Americans from every state in the nation; encompassing a variety of income brackets, political persuasions, and educational attainment levels. This survey provides the first comprehensive look at how current events in the news are impacting Americans’ sleep: causes, hours lost per night, impact on work productivity, supplement usage, and which political party is suffering the most.

The results surprised us.

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Key takeaways from this survey

• 34.03% of Americans reported losing sleep due to worries about current events
• The most common amount of sleep lost per night is 1-2 hours (35.01%), followed by 2-3 hours (29.13%), and 3-4 hours (16.53%)
• 71.71% of those who indicated they were losing sleep claimed that it’s impacting their ability to perform at work.
• Inflation is by far the biggest current event that’s causing sleep deprivation. 77.59% of sleep-deprived individuals cited inflation as a cause. 66.11% cited fears of World War III breaking out, and 48.46% were worried about the upcoming presidential election. 10.08% claimed other current events are contributing to their sleep deprivation.
• 79.43% of sleep-deprived Americans are taking a sleep supplement. Melatonin was most common with 51.82% of respondents indicating they take it regularly, followed by prescription sleep aids (29.41%), magnesium (22.13%), and Ashwagandha (12.61%)
• Democrats are losing more sleep due to current events (41.6%) than Republicans (33.98%) and Independents (25.22%)
• There was a marked difference in the leading issue causing sleep deprivation on a state-by-state basis (see below)

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About this survey

We polled a random sampling of 1049 Americans from every state with different income levels, political persuasions, educational attainment levels, and careers.

This helped us cross-reference these demographic characteristics with raw data about total hours of sleep lost, leading causes of sleep deprivation, supplement usage, and effects on work productivity.

We’re confident that this is the most accurate poll ever conducted about the devastating impact that global events in the news are having on Americans’ sleep habits.

These survey results should be used by people in the government, media, medical, and educational fields to help better understand why Americans are more sleep-deprived than ever. We sincerely hope this data will help decision-makers come up with solutions to the sleeplessness crisis engulfing our society.

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34.03% of Americans are losing sleep due to current events

We asked each respondent a simple yes or no question: are you losing sleep due to current events?

34.03% answered “yes” and 65.97% answered “no”.

This means that more than 3 out of every 10 Americans are sleep deprived due to concerns about global events they hear about in the news.

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Here’s how that breaks down on a state-by-state basis:

• Alabama – 15.38% yes | 84.62% no
• Alaska – 33.33% yes | 66.67% no
• Arizona – 25.81% yes | 74.19% no
• Arkansas – 18.75% yes | 81.25% no
• California – 35.87% yes | 64.13% no
• Colorado – 31.58% yes | 68.42% no
• Connecticut – 50% yes | 50% no
• Delaware – 50% yes | 50% no
• District of Columbia – 33.33% yes | 66.67% no
• Florida – 28.21% yes | 71.79% no
• Georgia – 27.5% yes | 72.5% no
• Hawaii – 30% yes | 70% no
• Idaho – 28.57% yes | 71.43% no
• Illinois – 46.53% yes | 53.57% no
• Indiana – 27.27% yes | 72.73% no
• Iowa – 40% yes | 60% no
• Kansas – 10% yes | 90% no
• Kentucky – 41.38% yes | 58.62% no
• Louisiana – 38.46% yes | 61.54% no
• Maine – 40% yes | 60% no
• Maryland – 50% yes | 50% no
• Massachusetts – 50% yes | 50% no
• Michigan – 25.81% yes | 74.19% no
• Michigan – 25% yes | 75% no
• Mississippi – 38.1% yes | 61.9% no
• Missouri – 23.53% yes | 76.47 no
• Montana – 25% yes | 75% no
• Nebraska – 33.33% yes | 66.67% no
• Nevada – 38.46% yes | 61.54% no
• New Hampshire – 71.43% yes | 28.57% no
• New Jersey – 43.33% yes | 56.67% no
• New Mexico – 25% yes | 75% no
• New York – 45.76% yes | 54.24% no
• North Carolina – 30.77% yes | 69.23% no
• North Dakota – 16.67% yes | 83.33% no
• Ohio – 35.14% yes | 64.86% no
• Oklahoma – 41.67% yes | 58.33% no
• Oregon – 50% yes | 50% no
• Pennsylvania – 30.91% yes | 69.09% no
• Rhode Island – 60% yes | 40% no
• South Carolina – 25% yes | 75% no
• South Dakota – 10% yes | 90% no
• Tennessee – 37.04% yes | 62.96% no
• Texas – 32.47% yes | 67.53% no
• Utah – 50% yes | 50% no
• Vermont – 10% yes | 90% no
• Virginia – 27.59% yes | 72.41% no
• Washington – 41.67% yes | 58.33% no
• West Virginia – 28.57% yes | 71.43% no
• Wisconsin – 25% yes | 75% no
• Wyoming – 10% yes | 90% no

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The most common amount of sleep lost is 1-2 hours per night

The next question we asked was “how many hours of sleep have you lost each night (on average) due to current events?

• 6.44% are losing less than one hour of sleep per night
• 35.01% are losing between 1 and 2 hours
• 29.13% are losing 2-3 hours
• 16.53% told us they’re losing 3-4 hours
• 7.56% are losing 4-5 hours
• 4.76% are losing 5 hours or more each night (!)

The most common amount of sleep that Americans are losing each night due to worries about current events is between 1-2 hours.

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Inflation is the biggest cause of Current Event Sleep Deprivation

Out of the survey respondents who reported losing sleep due to current events, inflation was the most common reason.

• 77.59 % claimed that they were having trouble sleeping due to inflation stress
• 66.11% couldn’t sleep because of fears of World War 3 breaking out
• 48.46% were unable to sleep due to the turmoil surrounding the upcoming presidential election
• 10.8% said that other global events were causing them to lose sleep

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The biggest cause of Current Event Sleep Deprivation varies depending on the state.

In most states either inflation or WWIII fears were most commonly cited. It was only in a small handful of states where the upcoming election was the biggest current event keeping people up at night.

You can view the regional differences on the map below.

It’s noticeable that WWIII fears predominate in the Great Plains states and New England while inflation stress is most common in the southeast and west coast.

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Sleep deprivation due to current events is affecting people’s productivity at work

71.71% of people who are losing sleep due to current events say that it’s negatively affecting their performance at work.

This means that global events are having a (before now) unmeasured and unseen effect on the American economy.

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Democrats are more likely to lose sleep over current events than Republicans and Independents

There was an extremely noticeable difference when it came to political affiliation.

Independents are least likely to report losing sleep due to worries about current events. Only 25.22% answered “yes” when asked “are you losing sleep due to current events?”

Republicans were in the middle with 33.98% answering “yes”.

Democrats were the most sleep-deprived due to current events. A massive 41.6% answered “yes”.

Inflation was the biggest concern for all three groups, with the possibility of WWIII breaking out coming in second, upcoming elections third, and other issues last.

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Melatonin is the most popular sleep supplement in America

21.57% of sleep-deprived Americans are not taking any supplements at all.

Out of the 79.43% who are taking sleep supplements:

• 51.82% are taking melatonin
• 29.41% are taking prescription sleep aids
• 22.13% are taking magnesium
• 12.61% are taking Ashwagandha
• 10.64% are taking other sleep supplements

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The sleeplessness crisis in America has never been worse. If you’re losing sleep due to stress about current events, we highly recommend trying Daily Z’s Sleep Gummies. We also recommend checking out our list of the best mattresses.

Psst… the sleep review industry is full of liars, sharks, and thieves. It’s a modern-day version of getting ripped off at your local mattress store. So, why should you trust us?