HOUSTON — If you’ve been feeling tired lately you are not alone.
A new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans are not getting enough sleep. It is the first time since Gallup started asking the question that has happened.
Of those responding, 57% of people said they need more sleep while 42% said they were getting enough. When Gallup first asked Americans the same questions in 2001, those numbers were basically reversed.
So what are we talking about when we say not enough sleep? Around 20% of respondents said they were getting five hours or less of shuteye a night. Women are worse off than men, which has been a trend since this poll started. About 48% of men reported getting enough sleep while only 36% of women could say the same thing in this most recent poll.
There is not a clear reason given for our lack of rest, but there could be a significant sign in the polling data. About 63% of people who said they weren’t getting enough sleep also reported being frequently stressed.
Of course, stress could be a symptom or a cause of our sleep drought but experts say there are steps you can take to decrease stress and increase sleep - like avoiding using your phone in bed, keeping a regular sleep routine and keeping the alcoholic drinks to a minimum.