How Much Does The Average American Sleep?

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- How much sleep did you get last night?

Did you sleep for about 8.5 hours?

If so, you would be considered average, according to data from the government's latest Time Use Survey.

Did you sleep for a bit more than nine hours last Sunday?

That is about the average time Americans sleep on the weekends.

Most adults get a bit less sleep on average than that.

That's because the overall average includes teenagers between 15-19 years old.

They report sleeping nearly 10 hours a day.

Overall, women sleep more than men--across all age groups.

However, the amount that women sleep declines more dramatically than men as they get older.

Females who are around 25 report getting 9.3 hours of sleep.

By the time they reach their late 40s, the average drops by nearly an hour a day.

Middle-aged people get the least sleep on average--about 8.3 hours.