The 10 most sleep-deprived states will totally surprise you

Whether it’s because of a barking dog next door, a car alarm down the street, a noisy roommate, or just a good old-fashioned sleepless night, we’ve all had nights where we got less shut-eye than we’d have liked. But for some, lack of sleep can be a pervasive issue — a real concern, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which calls lack of sleep a “public health problem.” In fact, according to the CDC, lack of sleep can be linked to various serious medical issues — diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression, just to name a few.

Of course, we also associate sleep deprivation with stress and the kind of people who “burn the candle at both ends” (see: any college student ever during finals week). When it comes to the adult population though, sleeplessness can be tracked by state, with some states having higher overall instances of sleep deprivation than others.

So what states are the most sleep-deprived? You’d think they’d be the states with the biggest, most bustling cities — not only because of the nature of cities (like NYC, the city that never sleeps!), but because of business folks working late into the night in the office. But no, New York has a relatively low rate of sleep deprivation, with only 28.5% sleep deprivation. The lowest is North Dakota, at only 22.9%. By comparison, the state with the highest rate of sleep deprivation clocks in at a whopping 37 percent, with more than one-third of residents struggling through the days with too little sleep.

The top ten states with the highest sleep deprivation are:

1. West Virginia (37%)
2. Kentucky (34.9%)
3. Tennessee (31.4%)
4. Oklahoma (30.9%)
5. Missouri (29.7%)
6. Alabama (29.7%)
7. Mississippi (29.4%)
8. Delaware (29.4%)
9. Ohio (29.3%)
10. Indiana (29.2%)

If you live in one of these states, and you just can’t seem to get enough beauty sleep, it could just be your state, who knows! But there are some things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep.

First of all, go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time every morning. This can help your body get into a more predictable routine. Also, make sure your bedroom isn’t too hot, but isn’t too cold — and make it a “quiet, dark, and relaxing environment.” Try not to do any of your Netflix watching in bed, and use it only for sleeping so that your body associates it with a good night’s sleep. And finally, make sure to avoid large meals before bedtime.

Check out the graphic below to see where your state stands on sleep. Happy slumbering!

(Image via CDC, Shutterstock.)