Early Data From Landmark National Sleep Survey Indicates Troubling Recent Trends Of Sleep Deprivation and Stress Since National Election

  LOS ANGELES, CA - 12/08/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

The latest data from the SleepScore Campaign – a national survey on sleep – is confirming Americans are sleep deprived and more stressed out in the time since the November 8^th election than at other times in the two years of baseline data, according to data collected in a major national survey underway by SleepScore.com.  Additionally, after a significant spike in stress levels and reduced sleep time on election night (November 8), the Eastern and Western Time Zones of the U.S. have not returned to normal sleeping patterns. The National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America Poll®, published in March 2011, established that 60% of Americans experience a sleep problem every night or almost every night. In September 2015, the Center for Disease Control declared insufficient sleep a public health problem.

Early data from the survey, to be concluded and released in January, is showing a recent, troubling trend of sleep deprivation and higher stress levels collected on the S+ device. Unlike self-reported measures and basic tracking devices which are often highly inaccurate, the study relies upon the S+ sleep tracking device using SleepScore technology by ResMed to measure detailed sleep patterns, breath by breath, all night long. The S+ by ResMed monitors and calculates the four stages of sleep (onset, light, deep and REM), sleep duration, nightly awakenings, and light and temperature levels in order to assign users a nightly “SleepScore”, between 0 and 100, as the most accurate metric of one’s individual sleeping patterns available for use at home. Launched on October 20, the survey aims to cumulatively build over 1.5 million records of accurate sleep data and assess the nation’s sleep fitness, while determining a national SleepScore.

“This critical survey is detailing the extent of our sleep crisis in America. Fatigue and sleep are the issues I am asked about most.  If you type 'why am I so..' into any search engine, it will default to a question about fatigue, tiredness or sleep,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of The Dr. Oz Show. “This early data on sleep time and stress, while confirming what we knew intuitively, is alarming and speaks to the urgency for Americans to make a healthy sleep plan a priority.”  Dr. Oz will be revealing the full results of the Million Nights SleepScore Survey and giving America its own SleepScore at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas January 6.

A sample of records were examined from a pool of more than 18,000 users of the S+ device which logs sleep activity and reports other metrics including stress levels and alcohol consumption. The users of the S+ devices are the source of the data for this survey, one of the largest objective sleep studies currently underway, with the results to be revealed in January 2017. 

The most dramatic variations in sleep patterns occurred on the nights of November 8^th (election night) and 9^th (Day After Election). The data showed significant changes in sleep times and stress levels on the East and West Coasts and some of the lowest levels recorded since the S+ device was launched in October 2014. None of the data collected explored political affiliation, so it’s not possible to associate the elevated levels of stress and alcohol with any voter groups, however, it is safe to say that the 2016 election was unique in how it unfolded and the level of emotional interest on the part of the public. The data from that evening and in the week that followed shows an associative link between the intensity of the climate surrounding the election and stress levels on public health.

“We are seeing results in our data collection that clearly demonstrate how stressed people have been during in these last weeks and on the night of the election,” said Colin Lawlor, spokesperson for the campaign. “Further, in these last weeks, we are at an all-time high in levels of stress and sleep deprivation which should be concerning for the whole country. It’s incredible data that shows that the long-term sleep crisis continues and real time major events can exacerbate it.”

Interesting data is as follows:

According to SleepScore’s National Sleep Survey, Americans lost an average of 25 minutes of quality sleep on November 8^th, the night of the presidential election. Additionally, the SleepScore Survey reported that the average SleepScores for November 8^th and November 9^th (election night and the following night respectively) were the lowest on record, when compared to the average SleepScores of 2015 and 2016.

Additionally, overall average stress levels were elevated across the country as 20% more people reported stress on election night, with the highest stress levels being reported on the East and West Coasts.

Comparing pre-election week data with November 8^th (election day) and November 9^th (day after election):

• Data across the states falling in the Eastern & Pacific Time zones showed a huge spike in people reporting stress, around 28% when compared to 16% people reporting stress in the states of Central and Mountain Time zones.
• Sleep metrics reported a 6% drop in sleep time compared to the previous week in the Eastern & Pacific states while states in the Central & Mountain Time zones reported just a 2% drop.
• Data that analyzed a population of “good sleepers”, according to the S+, revealed that the West Coast reported the highest stress levels, approximately 49% of S+ users. East Coast “good sleepers” reported elevated stress levels, around 15%, when compared to just 2% & 8% in the central & mountain time zone states respectively.
• Data that analyzed a population of sleep deprived individuals, according to the S+, revealed that the Western states also reported the highest stress levels, approximately 26% of S+ users. Sleep deprived S+ users on the East Coast reported elevated stress levels, around a 9%, when compared just 4% & 2% increased stress levels in the in the central & mountain time zone states respectively.

This analysis clearly demonstrates the distress among the people on the West and East Coasts during this year’s presidential election. Have stress levels and sleep metrics improved in the three weeks that have transpired since the election results came out?

According to the data:

• The states on the West Coast, still have a long way to go before returning to normalcy as stress levels still have not returned to pre-election levels and still stand at 30% of users reporting high levels of stress. The East Coast has shown a partial recovery but still show some signs of increased stress.
• Data since the election shows that the S+ users in the central and mountain time zone states have fully recovered and have actually reported lower levels of stress compared to the pre-election levels.

While the West and East Coasts appear to still be reeling under stress and inching towards recovery, it is safe to say that the central and mountain time zone states have resumed normalcy and are feeling less stressed since the election occurred.

Dr. Michael Breus, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and both a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and the author of the recent book The Power of When  is also an adviser to the survey and to Sleepscore.com. 

About S+

The S+ by ResMed is the world’s first non-contact, personalized sleep solution that uses highly-accurate bio-motion sensors to measure an individual’s sleep quality and bedroom environment to deliver personalized feedback that helps improve sleep from the very first night.

The S+ is based on SleepScore by ResMed, a proprietary patented technology, similar to echolocation, which measures respiratory rate and overall body movements while you sleep. By combining an accurate picture of every breath and every movement all night long, the technology includes advanced algorithms which then score sleep into wake, light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep, something most home-monitoring devices are incapable of doing. The technology has taken over 10 years and literally millions of nights of data to develop to this market-leading level of precision and has been tested extensively in both published and unpublished studies throughout the world. In addition to an accurate measurement of a person’s sleep, the product also records the light, noise and temperature conditions in your room. It syncs with your smartphone to provide personalized suggestions informed by millions of nights of proprietary sleep data and more than 200 clinical studies. 80% of S+ users with below-average sleep scores improved their sleep significantly in the very first week* and 69% of users with average sleep saw an improvement after one week*.

The S+ has been tested and validated extensively by comparing its performance versus the gold standard (Polysomnography or PSG) in accredited sleep laboratories throughout the world. S+ by ResMed has also been recognized with a number of awards including the prestigious RedDot, Frost & Sullivan Product Excellence, and CES Innovation Awards.

About the SleepScore Campaign

On October 20, 2016, ResMed, the global leader in sleep and respiratory medicine, in partnership with long-time sleep health advocates, talk show host and cardio thoracic surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and world-renowned sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus, launched the “SleepScore Million Nights Survey,” the largest sleep study ever undertaken as a life-changing experiment to foster better public understanding of sleep health and begin to tackle the sleep epidemic by getting Americans on a path to better sleep.

Throughout this survey, SleepScore will track the sleep quality of tens of thousands of S+ users in order to anonymously collect over 1.5 million nights of objective sleep data and will determine how well Americans are sleeping and. For the first time ever, assign America an overall “SleepScore.” The data collected during this campaign, to be announced at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, will lead to valuable insights into the nation’s sleeping patterns, innovative ways of improving sleep and will, ultimately, help people lead healthier happier lives.

For more information on the campaign, please visit www.sleepscore.com