This 4th of July we present a snapshot of how the average woman and man sleeps in the U.S.A.

Fourth of July, is one of the most cherished and loved holidays in the U.S. Or as Stephen Colbert once called it ‘It’s an Exploding Christmas’. It’s so popular in fact, that people across the world have picked up the tradition and now celebrate their own version of the U.S.A’s Independence Day, including stars and stripes-themed food and decorations. 

To honor the day and mark this special occasion – Sleep Cycle has gathered fresh sleep data on how the average U.S. male and female sleep. We’ve also got a surprise city in the U.S. that stands as it appears in the top three cities where both men and women get the best sleep. Carry on reading to find out how we snooze in the U.S.

An overview of the Data 

With over two million active users, Sleep Cycle gathers data from a number of users that voluntarily and anonymously agree to share their sleep data with us. Whilst putting together this piece, we used the aggregated data shared by our U.S. users from 2021. We were able to look at over 30 million nights of tracked sleep to break down how the average U.S. male and female adult sleeps. The average age range from the data collected was 35-37 years. 

U.S. Sleep broken down by gender

So how does U.S. sleep look when we break it down by gender?  Take a look at our infographic below for an overview of sleep in adult U.S. males and females.

Mrs (or Ms) U.S. Sleep Cycle 2022

  • Women wake up later than men in the U.S. As a matter of fact, women (7:36 a.m.) wake up 10 minutes later than U.S. men. 
  • Women in the U.S. go to bed earlier than U.S. men. The average U.S. female tends to sleep at 11:31 p.m. 
  • Women wake up in less of a good mood in the morning. Scoring at almost 58/100, women in the U.S. wake up in a slightly worse mood than men. 
  • Women in the U.S. snore less than men. The average U.S. female clocks in 23 minutes of snoring per night. If you’re keen to figure out whether you snore, you can detect snoring through a sleep tracker. 
  • Women in the U.S. enjoy a longer time sleeping in bed. In fact, they clock in 7 hours and 19 minutes of sleep each night. Perhaps no wonder, as they go to bed earlier and wake up later. 
  • Women in the U.S have slightly higher Sleep Quality than men. At 74.7 % they wake up after a slightly more reinvigorating night’s sleep than the average U.S. male. 

Top 3 U.S. Cities for Sleep (Female) 

  • Santa Fe – The State of New Mexico’s capital can now also boast as one of the three best cities for sleep for the average U.S. female. It had a Sleep Quality score at a whopping 80.13%. The bedtime at 23:03 p.m. is earlier than the average U.S. for females, but the wake-up time is also earlier at 7:15 a.m. However, it’s balanced by the long sleep duration of 7 hours and 50 minutes that females enjoy in Santa Fe. 
  • Steamboat Springs – the geothermal hot springs so popular in Steamboat Springs in Colorado may also be the secret ingredient for better sleep in this city. Females here tend to go to bed even earlier at 22:45 p.m. with a similar sleep duration as in Santa Fe (7 hours and 51 minutes). They enjoy a Sleep Quality Score of 79.6% and wake up earlier at 6:54 – most likely to catch a few ski runs early in the morning! 
  • Truckee – this sunny town in California also enjoys a high Sleep Quality score at 79.5% and the longest sleep duration time with 7 hours and 55 minutes. Women here go to bed on average at 22:46 p.m. and wake up at 7:04 a.m.

Mr U.S. Sleep Cycle 2022

  • Men wake up earlier. No lie-ins for men here, at least not if you compare them to U.S. females. The average U.S. male wakes up at 7:26 a.m. 
  • Men in the U.S go to bed later too. The average U.S. male will go to bed at 11:39, 9 minutes later than U.S. females.  
  • Men wake up in a better mood in the morning. Scoring at almost 61% (60.8%), the average U.S. male wakes up in a better mood than the average female. 
  • Men snore longer. Perhaps no big surprise, but males in the U.S. snored for an average of 26 minutes per night. However, with only 3 minutes shy of this time, women still snore closer to the same amount of time as men, than you would perhaps expect.   
  • Men enjoy a shorter sleep than women. At just over 7 hours (7.01) men in the U.S. have a shorter sleep duration than women who enjoy 18 more leisurely minutes sleeping in bed. 
  • U.S males have slightly lower Sleep Quality than their female counterparts. At 72.7 % they come in 2 percentage points lower with a Sleep Quality score, than U.S. females. 

Top 3 U.S. Cities for Sleep (Male) 

  • Gulf Shores – Beautiful Gulf Shores on Alabama’s Gulf Coast also ranks as one of the top 3 cities for sleep for U.S. males. Sleep Quality is high at 78.7 %, sleep duration is 7 hours and 40 minutes while wake-up and bedtime are 6:58 a.m. and 22:46 respectively. Clocking in at a respectable 7 hours and 4 minutes of sleep-duration time makes the Gulf Shores the perfect destination not just for its beaches, but also for sleep. 
  • Goleta – yet another sunny town in California that appears in the top three cities for sleep. Men here enjoy 7 hours and 30 minutes of sleep per night and although they go to bed at 23:34 p.m. they wake up later at 7:19 a.m. and with a Sleep Quality Score of 78.5%. 
  • Santa Fe – The city appears yet again as a hotspot for good sleep for both men and women. U.S. males enjoy 7 hours and 37 minutes of sleep on average per night and go to bed and wake up at 23:04 p.m. and 6:53 a.m respectively. The Sleep Quality score is high here as well and lands at 78.4%.

The Average American Sleep 

With our extensive set of sleep data from our U.S. users, we were able to answer all your top questions about how the average American sleeps:   

  • How much sleep does the average American get? According to our data, the average U.S. adult clocks in 7 hours and 10 minutes on average during a night’s sleep. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the recommended number of hours of sleep for U.S. adults is 7-9 hours, so our users are doing well! 
  • What time does the average American wake up? The wake-up time for the average U.S. adult is 7:31 a.m. Remember – the time in the morning that will work best for you, will depend on your sleep chronotype. To find out your chronotype, take our quick quiz!
  • What’s the average bedtime for U.S. adults? The average U.S. adult will hit the sack at 11:34 p.m.  
  • How long does the average U.S. adult snore per night? The average U.S. adult will snore for approximately 24 minutes each night. Snoring is a useful health indicator and understanding if you snore, can help uncover any underlying illnesses and also whether you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Whilst researching this article, we found our users in the U.S. had several sleep related questions, including common sleeping positions, how to sleep if you have pains and aches, whether it’s good to sleep with lights on, wet hair, a pillow between your legs and so on. The list is endless, but a good place to start informing yourself on sleep is on our blog! And if you’re keen to find out how you can adopt some simple sleep habits to help improve your sleep, go to our article on 10 habits for better sleep.  

In the meantime we wish you all – wherever you are – a very Happy 4th of July –  get the barbeque going, catch a parade, light some fireworks and then tuck yourself into bed and enjoy a Star-Spangled Sleep!