AASM Survey Reveals Top Sleep Disruptors in America

Noise and light are common disruptors to the sleep of Americans, according to a survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that found that more than one-third of Americans always or often experience disrupted sleep due to outside noise (36%), indoor lights (35%), and outdoor lights (33%).

The survey also probed what products are used during sleep and found that nearly half of people use a fan (47%), 29% use black-out curtains, and 24% use an alarm clock with wake-up lights. Other popular accessories include weighted blankets (20%), sleep masks (20%), noise machines or apps (18%), and earplugs (16%).

“What defines a comfortable night’s sleep varies from person to person, but developing a consistent sleep routine that removes distraction is a big first step in building a habit of good sleep health,” says James A. Rowley, MD, president of the AASM, in a release. “An effective metric for a successful nightly routine is that it leads to seven or more hours of sleep a night.”

How do people unwind for bed? The survey also asked what is regularly included in the bedtime routine and found that 39% of Americans take a bath or shower, while only 34% go to bed at the same time each night. Other bedtime routine activities include:

30% turn off electronics before bed
29% read
25% have sex
22% drink tea or other nonalcoholic beverage
21% meditate or do breathing exercises
20% stretch
20% smoke a cigarette or vape
19% smoke marijuana
15% drink an alcoholic beverage

“Going to bed at the same time each night is one of the keys to a successful and healthy sleep routine, yet only about one-third of people are doing it,” says Rowley in a release. “The new year provides the perfect time to reset habits to make sure that healthy sleep is a priority.”