Study: Most Americans Need More Sleep

Less than half of Americans say they are getting enough sleep, according to a recent opinion study by the Gallup organization.

The poll¹ found that 57 percent of Americans say they would feel better if they could get more sleep. Only 42 percent say they are getting as much sleep as they need.

Gallup carried out the same kind of study in 2013. That time, the results were different. Fifty-six percent said they got enough sleep, while 43 percent said they did not get enough sleep.

Women under the age of 50 were the most likely to report they are not getting enough rest. Only 27 percent of women in that group said they usually get all the sleep they need.

The poll also asked people to report how many hours of sleep they usually get each night. Only 26 percent said they got eight or more hours. Many sleep experts say adults should aim for eight hours of sleep a night.

Just over half of the respondents reported getting between six and seven hours of sleep a night. And 20 percent said they got five hours or less. That number increased from 2013, when 14 percent of respondents reported getting five hours or less.

Justine Broughal is a self-employed event planner with two small children. She is 31 years old. Her 4-month-old son still wakes up throughout the night. After her 3-year-old daughter goes to bed, she still needs to do some work in the house. That makes it difficult for her to get the sleep she needs.

"I really treasure being able to spend time with (my children)," Broughal says. However, she added that it can reduce the amount of time for her to rest and take care of herself.

Claude Fischer is a professor of sociology² at the University of California, Berkeley. He said that American culture has valued hard work and productivity³ since the first European immigrants⁴ arrived. He added that the religious beliefs of some groups connected hard work with approval⁵ from God.

Working hard, he said, "has been a core⁶ part of American culture for centuries."

Late-night relaxing

Some Americans also say their busy workdays make them want to stay up late. After a long day of work, spending time at night on social media or watching television can help them lower stress or have some time to themselves. But this reduces the number of hours they can sleep.

Liz Meshel has experienced⁷ this. The 30-year-old American is temporarily living and doing research in Bulgaria. But she also works⁸ a part-time job on U.S. hours to help pay her bills. That means she sometimes works until 10 at night local time.

When it is close to her bedtime, she said she thinks about the time she did not have for herself during the day. So, she decides to watch television and look at social media instead of getting to sleep earlier.

That, Meshel said, "will always make the problem worse."

Words in This Story

respondent -n. a person who answers one or more questions

treasure -v. to value highly⁹

sociology -n. the study of society or the way it is organized

core -n. the center or most important part of something

1 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

2 sociology   

n.社会学，社会关系学，群落生态学

参考例句：

• He is studying sociology.他正研究社会学。
• A pioneer of legal sociology in Germany was Max Weber.德国法律社会学的先驱是马克斯·韦伯。

3 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。

4 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

6 core   

n.中心；核心；(苹果、梨等果实的)果心

参考例句：

• We didn't get to the core of the subject.我们没触及问题的核心。
• The pear is rotten to the core.这梨全烂了。

7 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

8 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

9 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。