While that old rule of thumb of getting eight hours of sleep seems to be constantly updated, the CDC has settled on recommending that adults ages 18-60 get at least seven hours to stay as healthy as possible—and notes if you deprive yourself of that precious shut-eye, you could be more at risk for obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, among other undesirable conditions. But according to a survey the CDC published this week, a good portion of the US isn't in the zzzzz zone—of the 444,000 or so survey participants, only about 65% got seven-plus hours—though some states "do it better than others," NPR notes.
States that don't need as many melatonin supplements as the rest of us: South Dakota (with a 71.6% prevalence of healthy sleep duration of seven hours or more every 24 hours), Colorado (71.5%), and Minnesota (70.8%). And then there are those whose residents could be extras in The Walking Dead, with the worst offenders listed here, per the Wall Street Journal:
- Hawaii (56.1% prevalence of healthy sleep duration)
- Kentucky (60.3%)
- Maryland (61.1%)
- Alabama (61.2%)
- Georgia and Michigan (tied, 61.3%)
Check out the
CDC survey to see how other states rank. (More
sleep stories.)