Follow Us:
From the Sleep Experts® at
Sleep Uncovered 2022 | Sleep.com

Sleep.com presents Sleep Uncovered 2022

How COVID-19 is shaping the way we sleep — and live.

In partnership with

  • Driving the science of sleep improvement

2022
01

Intro

The pandemictransformed our sleepWhat does that mean for the future?

Sleep.com teamed up with SleepScore Labs and Institute for the Future to analyze America’s COVID-era sleep and envision possible sleep futures. In this report, we define “pre-COVID” as January to March 2020 and “during COVID” as March 2020 to March 2022. Keep scrolling for our most illuminating findings and forecasts.

Methodology

  • Sleep data from 134,885 U.S. adult SleepScore app users

    For a full list of sources and citations,

  • Sleep survey of 2,754 U.S. adults, conducted in January 2022

    For a full list of sources and citations,

  • Primary research published from 2020 to 2022

    For a full list of sources and citations,

  • Sleep forecasts based on cultural signals and advanced tools for futures thinking

    For a full list of sources and citations,

2022
02

Sleep Stats

How America’sbeen sleeping

During the pandemic, we notched more minutes of sleep.

0
more minutes

extra sleep per night SleepScore app users averaged during the pandemic

Estimated hours of sleep
Source: American Time Use Survey 2011-2020

But that extra sleep time didn’t always equal better rest.

In the SleepScore survey, 86% of adults said their sleep quality dropped during the pandemic.
  • Age
    0106

    Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers got more sleep; Gen Z didn’t, possibly due to increased anxiety and loneliness.

  • Race/ethnicity
    0206

    Americans of color have typically slept less than white Americans, and COVID-19 only widened the gap.

  • Family dynamics
    0306

    Having young children became a predictor of poor pandemic-era sleep, especially for mothers.

  • Socioeconomic status
    0406

    High-earning Americans were more rested than their low-income peers, and laid-off workers had the sharpest drop in average time spent sleeping.

  • Chronotype
    0506

    Morning types reported better sleep quality than evening types, who kept a less consistent sleep schedule. Learn more about chronotypes.

  • School status
    0606

    Students felt lonely more often than non-students. The more frequent the feeling, the lower their sleep quality.

Health & sleep

Physical and mental stressors disrupted our shut-eye, but spending more time at home helped us establish more consistent sleep schedules — a hallmark of quality rest.

2022
03
What happened

The coronavirusworsened our sleep issues(and vice versa).

Sleep disorders increased our risk of COVID hospitalization. They’re also one of the illness’ most recognizable lingering effects.

  • 2x
    more ICU admissions

    and 64% greater risk of death for COVID patients with obstructive sleep apnea

  • 12
    %
    lower risk of COVID infection

    for every hour of extra sleep that healthcare workers received

  • 27
    %
    still experience sleep disturbances

    six months into their COVID recovery

As COVID deaths soared in spring 2020, so did Google searches for “insomnia.”

2022
03
Health & Sleep

Loneliness and anxiety kept us up at night.

Anxiety, loneliness, and other pandemic-related mental health issues complicated our ability to sleep soundly.

Days per week the following emotions were felt, % of respondents
  • 40
    %
    of U.S. adults

    reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders at some point during the pandemic, up from 11% in 2019.

  • 51
    %
    of parents

    reported feeling anxiety or depression due to COVID-related schedule disruptions.

  • 68
    %
    of U.S. adults

    said anxiety about their own health or their family’s physical health contributed to poor sleep “always,” “often,” or “sometimes” during the pandemic.

2022
03
Health & Sleep

But spending more time at home also decreased our social jetlag.

Americans across generations closed the gap between their weekday and weekend sleep schedules — a measure called social jetlag. Consistent sleep schedules, which promote better rest, were one of our biggest COVID-era sleep gains.

What’s next

COVID-19’s lingering health effects will continue disrupting our nation’s sleep. But the longterm impacts of “Covidsomnia” and pandemic-related stress will also foster new levels of support for Americans with sleep disorders.

  • Emotional emphasis
    0103

    As “long insomnia” persists, schools and workplaces will prioritize mental and emotional health.

  • Shrinking schedules
    0203

    Early mornings and late nights will become “off limits” as sleep disorders gain more cultural acceptance.

  • Napping norms
    0303

    Mid-day nap breaks and family napping will become normalized (and formalized).

Tech & sleep

Streaming media and screen-time usage competed with sleep, but tech also helped us enhance our Zzz’s.

2022
04
What happened

Our tech useskyrocketed, skewingour sleep-screen ratio.

America’s penchant for binge-viewing reached three hours per day during the pandemic. In the SleepScore survey, people who used tech more often before bed had lower self-reported sleep quality.

0%
of surveyed adults

used tech devices in bed before going to sleep "most days" or "every day" during the pandemic.

How often technology use contributed to feelings of poor rest, % of respondents

During the pandemic, 4 in 10 parents relaxed their screen-time rules.

And research shows children who use computers or phones before bed get an hour less sleep than those who don’t.
2022
04
Tech & Sleep

But technology also gave us new tools for better rest.

As Americans embraced at-home sleep disorder testing and telehealth, they also flocked to sleep tech — a market projected to grow 17% year over year through 2027.

17
%
of adults

used sleep trackers and other sleep-improvement apps to help them sleep better “often” or “always” during the pandemic.

What’s next

Rather than curb our technology use, a new class of innovations will help us manage tech-sleep issues like blue-light exposure and excessive screen time. The sleep-tech space will continue to evolve, shifting from individual devices to customized therapies and curated sleep environments.

  • Sleep caves
    0103

    To curb sleep deficits, more homes will feature “sleep caves,” or spaces designated solely for sleep.

  • Tomorrow’s therapies
    0203

    From artisanal cocktails to AI-powered acupressure devices, sleep therapies will become increasingly personalized and multisensory.

  • Sleep tech 2.0
    0303

    As sleep technology matures, we’ll see more innovations validated by science (and integrated into the healthcare ecosystem).

School, work & sleep

Unpredictable schedules skewed our work-sleep balance, with low-income and non-white Americans most impacted.

2022
05
What happened

Remote work gave us back our commute time, and we used it for sleep.

Two years into the pandemic, 82% of survey-takers say they would prefer hybrid or remote arrangements in the future.

  • 30
    minutes

    average shift in wakeup time during COVID

  • 28
    minutes

    average one-way commute in the U.S.

Daily work or school arrangement, % of respondents
2022
05
School, Work & Sleep

But the pandemic also blurred the lines between our jobs and everything else.

Unpredictable schedules, a hallmark of COVID-19 life, are also a key indicator of poor sleep. Among the most affected? Gig workers, shift workers, hospitality workers, and parents with kids at home.

  • 133
    %
    higher likelihood of poor sleep quality

    among workers with the most unpredictable schedules

  • 2
    million Americans

    entered the gig economy for the first time during the pandemic.

  • 80
    %
    of essential workers

    slept less or more than they wanted to during the pandemic.

2022
05
School, Work & Sleep

And the sleep-income gap only widened.

We’ve known for decades that lower socioeconomic status is linked to less sleep, greater sleep disruptions, and a less consistent sleep schedule. The pandemic put a spotlight on the divide.

0%
lower self-reported pandemic sleep quality

for unemployed individuals versus 9-to-5 workers.

How rested respondents reported feeling, by income

People facing financial uncertainty were 23% more likely to have poor sleep quality and

38% more likely to have excessive daytime sleepiness than those not facing financial uncertainty.

What’s next

The pandemic’s changes to how we work and learn were mixed, inequitable, and bittersweet. Empowered by this “wake-up call,” workers will demand more flexibility and consistency about where they work, when they work, and when they stop. Sleep will become not just a worker right, but a human right.

  • Employee sleep benefit
    0103

    Sleep will become the next frontier for employee benefits, yielding a more well-rested workforce.

  • Sleep debt relief
    0203

    We’ll see growing awareness and a new social debate about the unequal distribution of sleep loss.

  • "Unsleepable” neighborhoods
    0303

    Environmental justice campaigns will expand to include sleep-disrupting conditions like nighttime light and noise.

Banner illustration

Get more insights on Sleep Uncovered 2022

2022
06

Your Sleep Future

What's your

sleep future?

We envision four sleep futures.
Find out which is most likely to be yours.

How will the pandemic impact your sleep in the next three to five years? Take our quick quiz to identify your most likely sleep future, get a glimpse at other possible scenarios, and receive sleep advice based on your forecast.

Banner illustration

Get more insights on Sleep Uncovered 2022