American adults believe more sleep can help their social health

NEW YORK - According to a OnePoll survey, over 71% of the 2,000 adults surveyed believe a little extra sleep--directly impacts their social health.

"When somebody's sleep-deprived, they're more irritable--, their mood is impaired and they have less patience," says Nathaniel Watson, a professor of Neurology at the University of Washington. "So clearly those types of behaviors and emotions are gonna make you less affable with the people around you."

Almost a quarter feel sleeping in a bit improves relationships with friends, family, and colleagues--while six in 10 believe more rest helps them have a better relationship with their partners.

"I tell people to focus on the quality of their wakefulness experience rather than the quantity," adds Watson.

Over eight in 10 believe the amount of sleep directly impacts their physical health. Over seven in 10 say the same about their mental health--while over 60% believe more sleep simply makes them happier.

"Set your alarm for that time that you actually need to get up and then rip off the bandaid and get out of bed," suggests Watson. "In an ideal situation--people want to wake up spontaneously without the need for an alarm clock."

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On average, Americans set four different alarms to wake up on a normal day--while one in 10 of those polled--don't set even one alarm. Watson recommends skipping hitting the snooze button.

"The time interval between when you press snooze and when the alarm goes off is not enough to get back into a deeper stage of sleep," says Watson. "So you're giving yourself less deep sleep and more light sleep, which is gonna be less beneficial for you."

Watson adds the recommended amount of sleep for adults is an average of seven hours or more.