Poll: Most Israelis Don’t Sleep Enough

Doctors recommend that adults get seven hours of sleep a night in order to maintain ideal health, but most Israelis fall short of that figure, according to a poll by the Pharma Quest research institute. In a scientifically determined sample group of 460, 53 percent said that they got between 5 and 6 hours of sleep a night. 38 percent slept 7-8 hours, while 3.7 percent slept 9 or more hours nightly. At the bottom end of the sleep spectrum, 4.7 percent said they slept as little as 4 hours nightly.

Nearly 60 percent of the respondents said that they were not sleeping enough.The higher the income level, the poll showed, the more dissatisfied people were with their sleep level.

The least satisfied sleepers were Yerushalayim residents; 84 percent said that they did not sleep enough, compared to the national average of 58 percent. The most satisfied sleepers were Negev residents, 60 percent of whom said they slept enough.

Even if they slept enough hours, not all Israelis slept soundly, the poll showed; 56 percent said that they woke up at least once in the night. Of those, 44 percent said they woke up once, while over half said they woke up multiple times – with 11 percent saying they woke up 4-5 times each night.