What’s Keeping You Up at Night?

Millions of Americans have problems getting a good night’s sleep. Some are parents of newborns, while others have noisy neighbors. But the biggest thing that impacts their ability to sleep is worry.

According to Dutch electronics firm Royal Philips, the problem of sleeplessness due to economic anxieties is a global phenomenon. The company recently conducted a survey of 8,000 people, in 10 different countries, and produced a report called, “Sleep: A Global Perspective.”

The company found that 96% of the survey responders in the United States, Brazil, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia value a good night’s sleep.

However, a full 57% of them said that their sleep could be better, yet they had done nothing about it. Only 17% were able to consistently sleep through the night.

Of all the things that keep people up at night, work (25%) and financial/economic issues (28%) were the most popular options chosen.

If you guessed that Americans lost the most sleep over work and money stress, you would be only partially correct. In fact, worries about work led the insomnia-producing brigade in South Korea, Brazil and China, while worries about economic/financial issues most affected the sleep of people in Brazil, Germany and the U.S.

For once, we Americans are happy to come in third.