According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans are placing more emphasis on the importance of proper sleep than ever before. It has been known for decades that sleep is essential to health, but it’s only recently that scientists have uncovered just how essential a good night of rest is to your defense against disease and expected lifespan.
What, exactly, does Gallup have to say about the relationship between Americans and their sleep, and what does it mean for the growing and solidifying American hemp market? We will cover all the details in this guide and provide you with concrete tips to follow in light of these shifting attitudes towards sleep.
The 2022 Gallup sleep poll
First, the basic facts: In 2022, Gallup partnered with mattress manufacturer Casper to survey more than 3,000 American adults regarding their attitudes toward sleep. Titled the “Casper-Gallup State of Sleep in America 2022 Report¹,” the results of this poll cover a wide range of topics — most importantly, for our purposes, the self-perception of Americans regarding how much the quality of their sleep affects their daily activities.
Before we move on to what the Gallup poll means specifically for cannabinoids, let’s take a moment to summarize its overall key findings:
– One-third of adult Americans (~80 million people) are dissatisfied with their sleep quality
– Good mental health is shown to be associated with healthy sleep
– Younger adults are the most likely to struggle with sleep and stress
– 55% of Americans make sleep a high priority
– Women value sleep more than men
– People who like their mattresses are more likely to sleep well
– More than $40 billion is lost yearly since workers fail to show up due to bad sleep
– Only 7% of adults indicate that their sleep last night was excellent
Americans increasingly value sleep
According to the Gallup-Casper poll, an increasing number of Americans are becoming aware of both the positive and negative impact their sleep habits can have on their quality of life. One of the most fascinating components of the poll was an assay of the areas in life respondents believed were affected by their sleep quality. Here’s a summary of the key findings:
– 49% of Americans believe their sleep quality affects their mood
– 49% of Americans believe their sleep quality affects their work performance
– 45% of Americans believe their sleep quality affects their general health
Furthermore, percentages of Americans who believe sleep affects their lives in the following ways stand thusly:
– Ability to exercise: 31%
– Ability to have fun: 30%
– Relationships with family: 26%
– Healthiness of food choices: 23%
The average person has always known that failing to sleep properly the night before makes it hard to do their job. Just as ubiquitous is the platonism that sleep is essential to your health.
A growing contingent of Americans, though, are clearly becoming aware of the impact of sleep on seemingly ancillary areas of life. More than a quarter of adults in the country, for instance, now realize that their close relationships suffer when they don’t rest well. Nearly a quarter also realize they’re more likely to binge junk food or go down the drive-thru line when they’re sleepy.
Younger Americans value sleep more
The data from Gallup clearly indicate that sleep is a growing priority as the nation evolves. Among the oldest group surveyed (65+), only 31% admitted that sleep impacted their mood while that number more than doubled in 18 to 29-year-olds: 68%.
The discrepancy is nearly as large but not quite as extreme when it comes to self-assessments regarding the overall importance of sleep to health. Again, 31% of 65+ respondents agreed that sleep quality impacted their health, but 59% of the survey’s youngest cohort recognized how much poor sleep could harm them.
Here are a few other areas in which younger Americans are more focused on how their sleep quality affects their health:
– % of 18-29 vs. 65+ Americans who believe sleep impacts their ability to exercise: 39% vs. 18%
– % of 18-29 vs. 65+ Americans who believe sleep impacts their ability to have fun: 46% vs. 19%
– % of 18-29 vs. 65+ Americans who believe sleep impacts their interpersonal relationships: 33% vs. 18%
– % of 18-29 vs. 65+ Americans who believe sleep impacts the healthiness of their diet: 28% vs. 16%
There are two major implications that can be drawn from this information. First, younger Americans are already very aware of the impact of sleep on their health, so they’re prepared to recognize the benefits of cannabinoids.
That doesn’t necessarily have to come at the detriment of reducing reach to older shoppers, though. In many cases, older individuals simply have less experience with the internet and are therefore less aware of the latest trends in natural health. Instead of as an averse audience, view older shoppers as simply less aware of the potential ways that cannabinoids might improve their sleep quality.
– Pro tip: If advertising online, create separate campaigns targeted at younger and older audiences. Calibrate your approach based on which demographic engages best.
Trust in conventional sleep medications wanes
Since at least 2010², it has been understood that many patients who are prescribed conventional sleep medications continue to present symptoms — in some cases, those symptoms also worsen. Doctors across the nation still prescribe everything from benzodiazepines to antidepressants in an attempt to help people get to sleep. The results are varied to say the least.
It’s not that prescription sleep medications are acutely ineffective. Pharmacologists have developed highly complex ways to assist human consciousness in shutting down for the night.
The issue, rather, lies in long-term treatment. Whether or not the drugs are safe, they usually fail to address any underlying issues that may be supporting sleep problems. Every dose sweeps insomnia further under the rug but does not remove it from the equation.
In response, many insomnia sufferers have turned to natural substances for help. Often poorly researched and only questionably effective, many of these natural sleep aids have also recently lost favor.
Natural treatments are debunked
“Debunked” might be somewhat too strong of a word, but there’s certainly more skepticism surrounding ingredients like melatonin than there once was. With this growing unease regarding the “first wave” of natural health ingredients aimed at sleep, newer substances like cannabinoids are rising to the fore.
Like melatonin, for instance, CBD affects already-existing areas of the brain. Unlike melatonin, however, CBD is not a hormone and, therefore, does not appear to have any capacity to impact your endocrine system in the way that melatonin might.
Cannabinoids rise to the fore
In many ways, consumers are beginning to view cannabinoids as “upgrades” to their existing natural health routines. Carrying both the grandeur and stigma of prohibition, cannabinoids nonetheless genuinely deliver benefits that have researchers around the world scratching their heads in amazement.
Shoppers appreciate the gentle naturalness of cannabinoids. They also appreciate, though, that these unassuming compounds appear to carry a great deal of heft — despite their humble origins and lack of side effects, there’s a lot that cannabinoids can do to improve our lives. People are awakening to this fact around the globe.
The usefulness of cannabinoids for sleep
Which specific cannabinoids show the most promise for sleep? We’ll give two pertinent examples below:
CBD
Not enough studies have been conducted into the potential benefits of CBD for sleep yet, but the initial evidence that has been amassed is compelling in itself. Even more compelling are the reams and reams of anecdotal evidence provided in the form of product reviews, blog articles, and social media testimonials originating from real people who have experienced the power of CBD for themselves.
Rather than causing intoxication like THC, CBD is gently relaxing — a property that users indicate goes great lengths toward helping them sleep at night. Better yet, most users indicate that CBD does not make them feel groggy in the morning.
CBN
Less studied still than CBD, CBN is a derivative of THC that has been denatured of most of its intoxicating properties. Instead of making you feel high, CBN is usually described as having mildly sedative effects — though researchers will need to publish more on the subject before we opine further.
How to fulfill rising demand for cannabinoid sleep products
The time is now to further the discussion surrounding cannabinoids and sleep by bringing a greater number of excellent products to the market. Chiefly, gummies and tinctures are the most popular cannabinoid sleep products at present, but the market is ready for expansion.
Whichever idea you might have for a cannabinoid sleep product, it has a chance as long as it brings genuine value to shoppers. Find a unique angle of approach, and start making your way into the cannabinoid sleep industry without delay.
Knowledge is power, sleep is health
In retrospect, it’s incredible the things that we didn’t know just a few decades ago. As society has progressed, previously held beliefs, including unquestioning trust in conventional pharmaceutical treatments, much of what people once took for granted has disappeared, leaving new truths behind.
Nowadays, you don’t have to be lucky enough to come across an illuminative newspaper or magazine article to learn about natural health revolutions that may be reshaping your world. An average shopper can learn everything they need to know about CBD or any other natural health product within a few minutes of searching on Google, a level of information freedom that has never before existed in the history of the human race.
The revelation has emerged, and people now know that sleep is the time-honored key to health and longevity. Any substances that help them sleep better without having any serious short-term or long-term negative effects will immediately be adopted by today’s cohort of educated and alternative-minded consumers. It’s only a matter of time, therefore, until cannabinoids attain even greater popularity as substances used to either facilitate or improve sleep.
The more knowledge people have, the more power they have. And, the more power people have, the more they will use that power to better themselves. It’s simply our role to help shoppers achieve these goals with the assistance of natural cannabinoid products.
Sources:
- 1. Gallup, Inc. (2022, April 18). Casper-Gallup State of Sleep in America 2022 Report. Gallup.com. https://www.gallup.com/analytics/390536/sleep-in-america-2022.aspx
- 2. Krakow, B., Ulibarri, V. A., & Romero, E. F. (2010). Patients With Treatment-Resistant Insomnia Taking Nightly Prescription Medications for Sleep. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.09m00873bro
