America's 6 Most Sleep-Deprived States

Hurray for South Dakota—but put on some coffee for Hawaii
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 18, 2016 2:34 PM CST
America's 6 Most Sleep-Deprived States
Does this guy live in Hawaii?   (Shutterstock)

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:

  1. Hawaii (56.1% prevalence of healthy sleep duration)
  2. Kentucky (60.3%)
  3. Maryland (61.1%)
  4. Alabama (61.2%)
  5. Georgia and Michigan (tied, 61.3%)
Check out the CDC survey to see how other states rank. (More sleep stories.)

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