Sweet Dreams Go With a Good Night's Sleep

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Sweet dreams are common to most people, according to a recent Gallup survey, but the sleep-deprived are less likely to experience them than are people who get enough sleep. Also, people who dream every night are less likely to have good dreams and more likely to have bad dreams than are people who dream less frequently.

The poll, conducted Dec. 5-8, shows that only 8% of Americans say they never dream at all, while 11% dream every night. An additional 25% say they dream several times a week.

The poll also shows that most people report having good dreams (65%), while only a relative few (15%) experience mostly bad dreams.

Apparently, good dreams come with a good night's sleep. Among people who say they would feel better if they got more sleep, 57% say they mostly have good dreams and 22% say bad dreams. Among people who say they get as much sleep as needed, the ratio is even more favorable -- 72% report mostly good dreams, and only 10% report mostly bad dreams.

But dreaming every night is not necessarily a good thing. While only one in nine Americans dream that frequently, they are much more likely to have nightmares than people who dream less frequently.

Twenty-eight percent of people who dream every night report having mostly bad dreams. Only 9% of people who dream frequently, but not every night, have mostly bad dreams. Among people who dream only now and then, 18% have mostly bad dreams.

Getting Enough Sleep

The poll also finds that, in general, Americans get about seven hours of sleep a night, little changed since 1990, although it is one hour less than reported in 1942.

Usually, how many hours sleep do you get at night? 

Slightly more than half of Americans, 55%, say they get as much sleep as they need, while 44% say they would feel better if they could get more sleep. These numbers are virtually identical to those obtained in 2001, but the trend since 1990 shows fewer people saying they get enough and more people saying they would feel better with more sleep.

Though the overall average number of hours of sleep has changed little since 1990, the current figures show that people who say they get enough sleep report an average of 7.4 hours of sleep a night, compared with an average of 6.1 hours among people who say they need more.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 5-8, 2004. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

16.            Usually, how many hours sleep do you get at night? 

17.       Do you think the number of hours sleep you get at night is as much sleep as you need, or do you think you would feel better if you could get more sleep?

18.       How often would you say that you have dreams while you are sleeping at night that you can remember the next morning -- every night, several times a week, a few times a month, rarely, or never?

19.       (Asked of those who can recall dreams) In general, would you say that the dreams you have most often are -- [ROTATED: good dreams (or) bad dreams]?

            COMBINED RESULTS (Q.18-19)