Women reported shorter sleep more often, US survey shows
Women in the United States were more likely than men to report sleeping less than seven hours, according to a survey conducted by Bohemian Research through its respondent apps MultiPolls, Golden Surveys and RewardRoo.
The survey included 504 complete responses from respondents in the United States and asked: “How many hours do you sleep on average?”
More than half of respondents reported less than seven hours of sleep
Overall, 52.4% of respondents in the survey said they sleep less than seven hours on average. This includes 22.8% who selected “less than 5 hours” and 29.6% who selected “6 hours”.
The most common answer was “6 hours”, selected by 29.6% of respondents. Another 19.8% said they sleep 8 hours on average, while 16.1% selected 7 hours.
Women reported shorter sleep more often than men
Differences were visible between men and women in the survey. Less than seven hours of sleep was reported by 55.2% of women and 49.3% of men.
The median reported sleep was 6 hours among women and 7 hours among men. The approximate average was 6.6 hours for women and 6.7 hours for men.
Shorter sleep was most common among respondents aged 45 to 59
By age, respondents aged 45 to 59 were the most likely to report sleeping less than seven hours. In this group, 63.4% selected either “less than 5 hours” or “6 hours”.
Among respondents aged 60 and older, the share was 58.6%. It was 45.7% among respondents aged 30 to 44 and 40.0% among respondents aged 18 to 29.
Education level also showed a difference
Respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher were less likely to report shorter sleep. In this group, 37.7% reported sleeping less than seven hours, compared with 56.2% among respondents without a bachelor’s degree.
Key findings
52.4% of US respondents in the survey said they sleep less than 7 hours on average.
The most common answer was “6 hours”, selected by 29.6% of respondents.
22.8% said they sleep less than 5 hours on average.
19.8% said they sleep 8 hours on average.
Less than 7 hours of sleep was reported by 55.2% of women and 49.3% of men.
Among respondents aged 45 to 59, 63.4% reported sleeping less than 7 hours.
Among respondents with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 37.7% reported sleeping less than 7 hours.
Methodology
The survey was conducted on April 22, 2026 through Bohemian Research respondent apps MultiPolls, Golden Surveys and RewardRoo. The analysis included 504 complete responses from respondents in the United States. Respondents answered the question: “How many hours do you sleep on average?” Results are presented for respondents included in the survey and were not weighted. Bohemian Research LLC is an ESOMAR Corporate Member (2026), supporting professional standards in market, opinion and social research.
