Gen Z and Millennials don’t necessarily understand the importance of getting enough sleep.
Adults ages 18 to 34 went to bed on average at 10:06 p.m. in January, compared to 10:18 p.m. in January 2023. The Wall Street Journal reportedaccording to an analysis of over 2 million total Sleep Number smart bed customers.
“All of a sudden it’s a lot cooler and going to bed early has become a lot more acceptable, and everyone’s just adapted to that,” Emma Craft, 19, a junior at the University of California, Berkeley, told WSJ.
“For me, nothing good happens after 9 p.m.”
This college student aims to go to bed by 9:30pm every night to get at least 9 hours of sleep. And she’s not the only one who snoozes through the night.
Not only do Gen Z go to bed earlier, they also sleep longer.
According to an analysis of U.S. Time Use Survey data by RentCafe, adults in their 20s slept an average of 9 hours and 28 minutes in 2022, an 8% increase from 2010.
of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Although we recommend that adults get at least seven hours of rest a night, many Americans are finding that they need more time to function fully.
“I always thought it made me look lazy, so I’ve tried to counter that,” Kelly Baskin, 32, told the Journal. But after seeing more of her peers proudly boasting about prioritizing sleep on social media, Baskin gave up and now tries to get eight or nine hours of sleep each night. .
Lack of deep sleep can negatively impact your physical and mental health. But experts warn that some people may be taking sleep a little too seriously.
“People are a little nervous about this issue,” John Winkelman, director of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told the Journal.
He touts the benefits of getting about seven to nine hours of sleep a night and having a consistent bedtime, but he doubts anyone needs to fall asleep that early unless they have a need to get up early. Not yet.
