Surprising Study Sheds Light on How Much We Sleep and Work
Americans sure like their shuteye.
The average American slept 8 hours and 50 minutes a day last year. That's 13 minutes more than they did in 2005 and two minutes more than in 2014.
Meanwhile, our time spent on the clock appears to be dwindling. Americans worked or commuted to work 3 hours and 32 minutes a day (including weekends) in 2015. That's 10 minutes less than 2005 and four less than in 2014. That figure is slightly skewed when you take only weekdays into account -- it rises to 8 hours and 8 minutes working or getting to their jobs, which is actually a five-minute increase from 2005.
The findings come courtesy of the 11,000 people who took part in the Labor Department's American Time Use Survey.
Employed people sleep 8 hours and 52 minutes a day on weeknights -- a good amount -- but still way short of the near newborn-like 10-plus hours those without jobs do.
Those folks who don't have jobs also watch three more hours of TV on a daily basis than those who are employed.
And because you know you're curious, women work 76 fewer minutes a day than men and sleep about 25 minutes more per day.
Sadly, there is no word on how much we're sleeping on the job.