Brigham and Women's Hospital study shows 72% say they're not getting good quality sleep
BOSTON -- Previous research has found the majority of American adults report getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, but a new study finds they may not be getting –good– sleep. People should think about both quantity and quality when it comes to getting a good night's rest.
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital surveyed more than 1,000 US adults in the Fall of 2021 about the quality of their sleep. For example, did last night's sleep leave you feeling groggy in the morning? They found that only 28% of respondents reported high scores of restorative sleep meaning they woke up feeling refreshed with improved mental alertness, mood, and energy. That means 72% did not get high-quality sleep, which surprised lead study author, Dr. Rebecca Robbins.
It's really the converse of a lot of these other nationally representative data that we have that show that only 1/3 of Americans are in the problematic category. But our study showed that instead of about two in three Americans might be falling short of restorative sleep. So, waking up day in and day out and not feeling refreshed, not feeling ready to take on the day.
Not surprisingly, people with multiple children, sandwich caregivers who are taking care of both kids and older adults, and those out of work and under financial stress tend to report the least restorative sleep.
So how can you improve the quality of your sleep? Dr. Robbins says to make sure you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, Monday to Monday. And she says, it takes most people at least 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep so the time right before bed is critically important.
Think of that as part of the process and add that to your number that we all shoot for whether it's seven, hopefully, seven or eight hours, tack on an extra 30 minutes, and think of that as your wind-down time and pack it with things that you love. Think about happy memories. Take a warm shower and read a couple of pages in a book. Give yourself the time to slip into sleep well.
She says when it comes to sleep, we adults need to take the same advice we give to our children.