Most Sleepy, Best Rested States
Oct. 29, 2009 -- Who are the sleepiest Americans?
The results of a 2008 CDC poll are in. The dubious honor goes to West Virginia, where nearly one in five residents report never getting enough rest or sleep in the past month.
Overall, people living in the Southeastern states were most likely to say they get too little sleep.
On the other hand, the best rested Americans live on island territories and the state of Hawaii. Residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are most likely to say they got plenty of sleep or rest in the past month.
Although geography played a role, so did other factors.
- Too little sleep or rest every day in the past month was more commonly reported by:
- People aged 25 to 34 (13.8%) vs. people aged 65 or older (7.4%)
- Non-Hispanic blacks (13.3%) vs. non-Hispanic whites (11.2%)
- Women (12.4%) vs. men (9.9%)
- People with less than a high school education (14.3%) vs. people with some college education (9.6%)
- Divorced, widowed, or separated people (16%) vs. married people (11.1%) or unmarried people living together (12.1%)
- People unable to work (25.8%) vs. employed people (9.9%) or even unemployed people (13.9%)
The CDC poll was part of the huge Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. In 2008, a national sample of 403,981 U.S. residents were asked, "During the past 30 days, for about how many days have you felt you did not get enough rest or sleep?"
Here are the state-by-state results. Rankings were added by WebMD; the CDC does not rank states. The data appear in the Oct. 30 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
This list ranks the states from most sleepy to least sleepy:
STATE | Rank | 30 days poor sleep in last month (%) |
West Virginia | 1 | 19.3 |
Tennessee | 2 | 14.8 |
Kentucky | 3 | 14.4 |
Oklahoma | 4 | 14.3 |
Puerto Rico | 5 | 14.0 |
Florida | 6 | 13.5 |
Georgia | 7 | 13.4 |
Missouri | 7 | 13.4 |
Alabama | 8 | 13.2 |
Mississippi | 9 | 13.1 |
Louisiana | 10 | 13.0 |
North Carolina | 10 | 13.0 |
New Jersey | 11 | 12.8 |
Arkansas | 12 | 12.3 |
South Carolina | 13 | 12.0 |
Delaware | 14 | 11.9 |
Massachusetts | 15 | 11.8 |
Texas | 15 | 11.8 |
Arizona | 16 | 11.5 |
South Dakota | 16 | 11.5 |
Guam | 17 | 11.4 |
Indiana | 17 | 11.4 |
Ohio | 17 | 11.4 |
Pennsylvania | 18 | 11.3 |
Iowa | 19 | 11.1 |
Maine | 19 | 11.1 |
Nevada | 19 | 11.1 |
Rhode Island | 20 | 10.9 |
Kansas | 21 | 10.8 |
Michigan | 21 | 10.8 |
New York | 21 | 10.8 |
New Mexico | 22 | 10.6 |
Connecticut | 23 | 10.4 |
Maryland | 24 | 10.1 |
Wyoming | 24 | 10.1 |
Minnesota | 25 | 10.0 |
Montana | 26 | 9.9 |
New Hampshire | 26 | 9.9 |
Virginia | 26 | 9.9 |
Washington | 26 | 9.9 |
Hawaii | 27 | 9.8 |
Illinois | 27 | 9.8 |
Vermont | 28 | 9.7 |
U.S. Virgin Islands | 29 | 9.6 |
Alaska | 30 | 9.4 |
Colorado | 31 | 9.2 |
Utah | 31 | 9.2 |
Nebraska | 32 | 9.0 |
Idaho | 33 | 8.9 |
Oregon | 34 | 8.8 |
Wisconsin | 35 | 8.6 |
District of Columbia | 36 | 8.5 |
California | 37 | 8.0 |
North Dakota | 38 | 7.4 |
Today in Sleep Disorders
Is This Normal? Get the Facts Fast!
Answer:
Your level is currently
You say you are able to function well with fewer than seven hours of sleep. Some people say they can function on four to six hours of sleep each night, but research shows that adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep — whether for just one night or over the course of days, weeks, or months — have more difficulty concentrating and more mood problems than people who sleep seven to nine hours.
Since you usually get too little sleep, please talk to your doctor about your sleep patterns. Poor quality sleep can affect many areas of your life and health, and your doctor may be able to help you if you have insomnia or other conditions affecting your sleep.
Sleep deprivation can have both short- and long-term consequences. Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's not surprising you feel that you're not functioning at your best today. Some people say they can function on four to six hours of sleep each night, but research shows that adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep — whether for just one night or over the course of days, weeks, or months — have more difficulty concentrating and more mood problems than people who sleep seven to nine hours.
Since you usually get too little sleep, please talk to your doctor about your sleep patterns. Poor quality sleep can affect many areas of your life and health, and your doctor may be able to help you if you have difficulty sleeping, have insomnia, or have other sleep disorders.
Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's not surprising you feel that you're not functioning at your best today. Some people say they can function on four to six hours of sleep each night, but research shows that adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep — whether for just one night or over the course of days, weeks, or months — have more difficulty concentrating and more mood problems than people who sleep seven to nine hours.
It's good that you usually do get more sleep, since sleep deprivation can have both short- and long-term consequences. Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. And if you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
You say you are able to function well with fewer than seven hours of sleep. Some people say they can function on four to six hours of sleep each night, but research shows that adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep — whether for just one night or over the course of days, weeks, or months — have more difficulty concentrating and more mood problems than people who sleep seven to nine hours.
It's good that you usually do get more sleep because sleep deprivation can have both short- and long-term consequences. Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. And if you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's not surprising you feel that you're not functioning at your best today. Some people say they can function on four to six hours of sleep each night, but research shows that adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep — whether for just one night or over the course of days, weeks, or months — have more difficulty concentrating and more mood problems than people who sleep seven to nine hours.
Since you usually get less sleep, please talk to your doctor about your sleep patterns. Poor quality sleep can affect many areas of your life and health, and your doctor may be able to help you if you have difficulty sleeping or have insomnia or other sleep disorders.
Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's wonderful that you got a good night's sleep last night. Many people struggle to do so. Having a good sleep routine often is the key to getting the quality sleep night after night that your body needs for optimal health. Whether your sleep routine involves taking a warm bath, reading a book, or meditating, it's important to keep your bedtime and routine consistent every night and wake up around the same time every morning.
Click here to read more about the importance of sleep. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's unfortunate you're not functioning at your best today. You say you had a good quantity of sleep last night, but maybe the quality of your sleep is not as good as it could be? Having a good sleep routine — including a consistent bedtime and wake time — often is the key to getting the quality sleep night after night that your body needs for optimal health. Since you usually sleep this amount, if you often aren't feeling your best, you should consider talking to your doctor. Could you have an underlying condition? Are you feeling anxious or depressed? Have you taken medication that disrupted your sleep? Do you or could you have sleep apnea? Or do you naturally require a little bit more sleep?
Although sleep is crucial for optimal health, some research suggests that sleeping too much can also have negative consequences. Learn more about sleep. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's unfortunate you're not functioning at your best today. You say you had a good quantity of sleep last night, but maybe the quality of your sleep is not as good as it could be? Having a good sleep routine — including a consistent bedtime and wake time — often is the key to getting the quality sleep night after night that your body needs for optimal health. Since you usually sleep longer, if you often aren't feeling your best, you should consider talking to your doctor. Could you have an underlying condition? Are you feeling anxious or depressed? Have you taken medication that disrupted your sleep? Do you or could you have sleep apnea? Or do you naturally require a little bit more sleep?
Although sleep is crucial for optimal health, some research suggests that sleeping too much can also have negative consequences. Learn more about sleep. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's wonderful that you got a good night's sleep last night. Many people struggle to do so. Having a good sleep routine often is the key to getting the quality sleep night after night that your body needs for optimal health. Whether your sleep routine involves taking a warm bath, reading a book, or meditating, it's also important to keep bedtime consistent and wake up around the same time every morning.
Although sleep is crucial for optimal health, some research suggests that sleeping too much can have negative consequences. Learn more about sleep. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's unfortunate you're not functioning at your best today. You say you had a good quantity of sleep last night, but maybe the quality of your sleep is not as good as it could be? Having a good sleep routine — including a consistent bedtime and waking up at the same time — often is the key to getting the quality sleep night after night that your body needs for optimal health.
Since you usually get less sleep, please talk to your doctor about your sleep patterns. Poor quality sleep can affect many areas of your life and health, and your doctor may be able to help you if you have insomnia, another sleep disorder, or conditions affecting your sleep.
Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
It's wonderful that you got a good night's sleep last night. Many people struggle to do so. Having a good sleep routine often is the key to getting the quality sleep night after night that your body needs for optimal health.
Since you usually get less sleep, talk to your doctor about your sleep patterns. Poor quality sleep can affect many areas of your life and health, and your doctor may be able to help you if you have insomnia or another sleep disorder or conditions affecting your sleep.
Learn more about the health consequences of sleep loss. If you're concerned about having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, assess your risk for a sleep disorder.
SOURCES:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Effect of short sleep duration on daily activities--United States, 2005-2008. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2011; 60:239.
Carskadon, MA, Dement, WC. Normal Human Sleep: An Overview. In: Principles and Practices of Sleep Medicine, Fifth, Kryger, MH, Roth, et al. (Eds), Elsevier Saunders, St. Louis, MO 2011. p.16.
Harvard University: "Sleep, Performance, and Public Safety."
Did You Know Lifestyle Choices
Impact Your Sleep?
Use the WebMD Sleep Tracker to track
your ZZZs over time.
This tool is intended only for adults 18 and older.
Step: of
WebMD Special Sections
- Tired & Sleepless: What's Keeping You Up?
- Living With Insomnia: Get a Good Night's Sleep
- The Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep
- Sleeping Pills: What Consumers Need to Know
- Coping With Sleep Loss: Tips for a Brighter Day
- Slideshow: 12 Causes of Fatigue and How to Fight Them
- Slideshow: A Visual Guide to Sleep Disorders
- Slideshow: Foods That Help or Harm Your Sleep

