Complaints of poor sleep quality due to anxiety about the presidential election
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election on the 5th, a survey showed that one in five Americans has trouble sleeping. This is what the health and medical webzine ‘Health Day’ reported on the 31st of last month (local time) based on a survey by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), an American non-profit charity organization.
It was found that 17% (approximately 45 million people) of American adults responded that their quality of sleep was poor because they were unable to sleep at night due to anxiety about this year’s presidential election. They responded that they slept less on weekends and that their overall sleep quality deteriorated. This negative impact on sleep was found to be felt across all groups, including political parties.
“The dynamics of stressful social events, such as elections, can adversely affect the public’s mood as well as their sleep health, which is important for health and well-being,” said Joseph Duzewski, Ph.D., senior vice president for research and science at NSF. “It is important to maintain good sleep health during this difficult time,” he said. Sleep experts point out that anxiety and insomnia can interact in a vicious cycle. Anxious people have trouble sleeping, and people who have trouble sleeping are more vulnerable to anxiety.
People affected by the election were found to sleep about 7 hours on the weekend. This was nearly 30 minutes less sleep than those who responded that their sleep was not disturbed by politics.
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being very good and 5 being poor), the average sleep quality of people worried about the election was about 3.36, compared to 2.05 for people not affected by politics. It turned out to be bad. Those who answered that they have trouble sleeping because of the election were 18% of Democratic supporters, 17% of Republican supporters, and 16% of independent supporters, showing no significant difference.
Candidates and their consultants and campaign managers need to consider how their messages may affect the sleep health and well-being of the American public, NSF’s press release said. ‘For example, campaign strategies and reporting that exaggerate potential negative election outcomes and evoke strong emotional responses from the public may have negative impacts on sleep health, with potential consequences for wider health, wellbeing and safety outcomes. ‘You can.’
The NSF explained that this survey was conducted among 1,364 adults nationwide two months before Election Day. This suggests that there may be more people having trouble sleeping at this point.
Source: kormedi.com
