Want to feel good? Then get to bed earlier.
A new Gallup survey has found people who get more sleep every night have a higher well-being than those who get less.
But you don’t need to sleep your life away. Well-being scores peak at eight hours and level out after that.
The survey, which was part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, showed people’s happiness scores increased as they got more sleep.
For those getting three to 4 hours a night, their score was 51.4 vs. 59.4 for people who get six hours, 64.2 for people getting seven hours and 65.7 for those getting eight hours.
Unfortunately, a lot of Americans aren’t getting the shut-eye they need to feel the happiest. For adults ages 18 and older, 42% report getting less than seven hours of sleep on a typical night, the minimum amount recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.
The average amount of sleep varies with age. Not surprisingly, about two-thirds of seniors ages 65 and older get seven or more hours of sleep per night, probably because most are retired and don’t have young families. By contrast, just 55% of 30- to 44-year-olds get seven or more hours, the lowest percentage of any age group.
Adults ages 30 to 44 have the lowest well-being score for any age group that gets only five hours of sleep a night (53.9) but see significant improvement when they get seven hours per night (63.2).
Seniors are the only age group that’s happiest with seven hours of sleep. All others do best with eight.
Nationwide, a startling 17% of adults get five or less hours of sleep a night, compared with 52% who receive six or seven hours and 32% who receive eight hours or more.
Previous Gallup research has concluded that Americans are getting about an hour less sleep than they did in the 1940s. The impact is far reaching.
While not getting enough sleep can affect a person’s happiness, working long hours, family obligations and insomnia can put a drain on employees and their productivity.
Employers can promote the value of sleep by allowing employees to work flexible hours to better balance work and family demands with getting enough sleep.
The survey results were based on phone interviews with 7,058 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 5-19. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index measures five elements of well-being: purpose, social, financial, community and physical.
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