Most U.S. adults say they get enough sleep -- about 7 hours

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. adults currently average 6.8 hours of sleep at night, down more than an hour from 1942, a Gallup poll indicates.

Almost 60 percent of U.S. adults get 7 or more hours of sleep at night, but in 1942, 84 percent did, while about 40 percent get less than 7 hours of sleep at night and in 1942, 11 percent got less than 7 hours of sleep a night.

Medical studies have linked a lack of sleep to health problems such as weight gain and increased diabetes risk as well as cognitive impairment. Experts typically recommend 7 to 9 hours sleep for adults a night.

However, 56 percent of Americans say they get as much sleep as needed, while 43 percent say they would feel better if they got more sleep. The percentage who say they get sufficient sleep has been in the mid-50 percent range since 2001.

Thirty-two percent of those who say they sleep 6 hours or less say they get as much sleep as needed, which increases to 53 percent among those getting 7 hours of sleep -- the minimum recommendation -- and to 86 percent among those getting 8 hours or more.

Young adults and parents of children age 18 and younger are among the more sleep-deprived groups, while senior citizens tend to be well-rested.

The telephone survey of 1,031 adults was conducted Dec. 5-8. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.