INSOMNIA MEDIA KIT
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Insomnia Backgrounder
• Insomnia Fast Facts
  Who Gets Insomnia
  More about Sleep Disorders at healthywomen.org

 

INSOMNIA FAST FACTS

  • Insomnia is the most common sleep disturbance in America, affecting an estimated 100 million Americans1

    • At some point in their lives, 58 percent of adults (approximately 75 million Americans) experience symptoms of insomnia a few nights or more a week2

    • Nine percent of the U.S. population (approximately 25 million Americans) suffer from chronic insomnia, reporting at least one symptom of insomnia every night or almost every night3

  • Symptoms of insomnia include:4

    • Difficulty falling asleep

    • Difficulty maintaining sleep

    • Waking up too early in the morning

    • Waking up feeling unrefreshed

  • Although many people suffer from these symptoms, it is unlikely that they would refer to their condition as insomnia. The majority say they have trouble sleeping, but do not recognize that they may have insomnia

  • Certain groups of people are more likely to suffer from insomnia including:6

    • Elderly adults

      • Approximately 67 percent of elderly adults reported trouble sleeping and only one in eight had discussed these problems with their physicians

    • People who travel frequently or shift workers

    • People with medical or psychiatric conditions

      • Most adults diagnosed with depression report a sleep disturbance and are at especially high risk for insomnia7

    • Women (especially over the age of 40)

      • Women are more than 30 percent more likely to have insomnia than men8

  • Approximately 61 percent of adults have never been asked about their quality of sleep by a physician9

  • The total economic costs associated with insomnia have been estimated at $107.5 billion10

    • REGIONAL PROFILE OF INSOMNIA IN THE U.S.

    The following information is an excerpt from the National Sleep Foundation's 2002 Sleep in America Poll. This survey represents 1,010 interviews conducted via telephone at the end of 2001. Below is an executive summary of the survey results from different regions in the U.S.

    Symptoms of insomnia at least a few nights a week:

    Northeast
    Midwest
    South
    West
    Any symptoms of insomnia
    58%
    54%
    60%
    60%
    Difficulty falling asleep
    30%
    21%
    25%
    24%
    Awake a lot during the night
    34%
    38%
    37%
    34%
    Woke up too early and couldn't fall back to sleep
    24%
    22%
    29%
    19%
    Woke up feeling unrefreshed
    44%
    38%
    41%
    38%

    Additionally, a recent survey in USA Today identified the top 10 "best" and "worst" cities for sleep:

    Best Cities for Sleep

    1. Minneapolis, Minn.
    2. Anaheim, Calif.
    3. San Diego, Calif.
    4. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
    5. Washington, DC
    6. Northern N.J.
    7. Chicago, Ill.
    8. Boston, Mass.
    9. Austin, Texas
    10. Kansas City, Mo

    Worst Cities for Sleep

    1. Detroit, Mich.
    2. Cleveland, Ohio
    3. Nashville, Tenn.
    4. Cincinnati, Ohio
    5. New Orleans, La.
    6. New York, N.Y.
    7. Las Vegas, Nev.
    8. Miami, Fla.
    9. San Francisco, Calif.
    10. St. Louis, Mo

    In analyzing the best-ranked cities, researchers found higher scores for overall happiness and low unemployment, which closely corresponded to the number of nights residents of those cities reported good sleep. In the analysis of cities ranked worst for sleep, overall measures of happiness were low.11

    1. Extrapolated to current population from 2000 census based on Ancoli-Israel et al. SLEEP. 1999;22 (suppl 2):S347-S353.
    2. 2002 Sleep in America Poll - National Sleep Foundation.
    3. Extrapolated to current population from 2000 census based on Ancoli-Irael et al. SLEEP. 1999;22 (suppl 2):S347-S353.
    4. "Facts about Insomnia" - National Institutes of Health.
    5. "Facts about Insomnia" - National Institutes of Health.
    6. 2003 Sleep in America Poll - National Sleep Foundation.
    7. "Sleep Disturbances Associated with Depression." Sleep Review. January/February 2004. URL: http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/Articles.ASP?articleid=S0401F02.
    8. "Facts about Insomnia" - National Institutes of Health.
    9. 2000 Sleep in America Poll - National Sleep Foundation.
    10. Stoller, MK. "Economic Effects of Insomnia" Clin Ther. 1994 Sep-Oct; 16(5):873-97; discussion, 854.
    11. Sperling, B. "Best and Worst Cities for Sleep." 2004.

     

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