American Sleep Index: The best states for sleeping in the US

The best states across America to get a good night’s sleep have been revealed with Maine coming out on top and California being ranked as the worst.

Here at Online Bedrooms we want everyone to recognise the importance of quality sleep so we’ve created the American Sleep Index to reveal which state and city is the best for sleeping.

We have investigated the impact of urban spaces on our sleep to reveal which factors contribute to the quality of our sleep based on the city we’re living in or visiting on vacation.

Location can have a massive impact on your sleeping patterns and our research has shown that across America, light pollution, noise pollution, low levels of optimum sleep, sunlight disturbance and public health levels are all causing a bad night’s sleep. So which states have the bedrooms that offer the best sleep?

Our findings have revealed Maine as the best state in the US for sleeping, with low sunlight levels to avoid disturbing bedtime and little noise pollution from transportation overnight - at 45 dBA.

The American Sleep Index has also ranked California as the worst city for sleeping due to its high levels of sunlight levels, noise and light pollution, despite ranking fourth best for public health.

Comparing the best and the worst states meant that Maine had a total of 216 points, yet California had 62 points.

The state in second place is Vermont, with the lowest levels of light pollution in the country (0.373 luminance per square meter) and ranking in 16th position for some of the best public health in the US.

Health has a large impact on sleep quality, and they often go hand in hand. Poor sleep quality can have an impact on overall health, and raises the risk of diseases and disorders.

The state with the best public health score is Hawaii - which ranks in 34th position in terms of getting a good night’s sleep. Those sleeping in the state are impacted by high levels of light pollution and sunlight levels.

Arizona is the worst area for sunlight levels disturbing sleep - with 5755 kJ/m2 - meaning it makes the bottom 20 states for having good rest at night.

In Montana, 27.5% of the population are not getting optimum sleep and noise pollution levels reach 49.7dBA, but the lack of sunlight means the state ranks in fourth position overall.

The sunlight levels in New Mexico reach 5642 kJ/m2, which is the highest number in the top ten best states for sleeping in the country.

However, despite disturbance from a lack of darkness, New Mexico has low levels of artificial light pollution and less than half of the population experiencing noise pollution from transport at night.

Florida is the second worst state to get a good night’s sleep due to the high levels of noise pollution (62.5 dBA), which is the third worst in the country.

Methodology

Sources correct as of March 2024.

• Light pollution levels (measured in mcd/m2) - https://www.lightpollutionmap.info
• Noise pollution levels (measured in dBA, transportation noise) - https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=29d9fc21fce543c7a841664945263e00 (note from source: Values of 45 or less have been changed to 45 for comparative reasons).
• Sleep hours (measured by the percentage of the population aged >=18 years old, sleeping less than seven hours) - https://places.cdc.gov/?locationIds=5548000&view=place
• Sunlight levels (measured in kJ/m2, average annual sunlight levels) - https://stacker.com/health/sunniest-states-us
• Public health rating - https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/health-care/public-health
• Source for health impact on sleep quality - https://www.cdc.gov/

The light pollution levels, noise pollution levels, optimum sleeping hours, sunlight levels, and public health rating in each state have all been analyzed for this index.

Each state was given a nominal score which was totalled up to give a final ranking. Where information for the state was not available, the capital city of each state was used.

Sunlight levels for Hawaii and Alaska were not included in the original dataset. For this index, the average sunlight levels were used for both states.

Sleep levels for Hawaii as a state were not available in the original datasource. Instead, as several locations in Hawaii were available, this was averaged out to give a score for this index.

New Jersey and Georgia both resulted in the same points score, so New Jersey was awarded an extra point based on quieter population levels to give an equal ranking at the bottom of the index.

Not just in the USA, we also conducted our study and creation of the European Sleep Index.