Survey finds increase in employed US adults reporting ≤6 hours of sleep from 2008 to 2018

A survey report analyzed data from currently employed adults aged ≥18 years in the United States. The study measured the percentage of this population reporting an average of ≤6 hours of sleep per 24-hour period. No specific intervention, exposure, or comparator was reported.

The main finding was an increase in the reported prevalence of short sleep duration. The percentage of employed adults reporting ≤6 hours of sleep rose from 28.4% in the 2008-2009 period to 32.6% in the 2017-2018 period. The report did not provide effect sizes, absolute numbers, p-values, or confidence intervals for this change.

Safety, tolerability, and adverse event data were not reported. Key limitations include the observational, survey-based nature of the data, which prevents causal inference. The sample size and specific survey methodology were also not detailed. Funding sources and potential conflicts of interest were not reported.

For practice, this report highlights a descriptive trend of increasing self-reported short sleep duration among a working population over a decade. The data suggest this may be a growing public health concern, but clinicians should interpret the findings cautiously as survey reports cannot establish causality or determine clinical impact. The lack of granular data on demographics, occupations, or health outcomes limits specific clinical applications.