When are you at your best? The results of a new YouGov survey reveal that nearly half of respondents say they function best in the morning or mid-day and 79% are at their top when they get between six and eight hours of sleep.
When asked at what time of the day they were at their best, our respondents said the following:
- Morning: 28%
- Mid-day: 20%
- Afternoon: 18%
- Evening: 16%
- Night: 10%
Similar to the results found by our colleagues in the United Kingdom, older individuals were more likely to prefer earlier times than their younger compatriots:
- Among those over 55 years-old, 40% said they were at their best in the morning, while 21% preferred mid-day and 34% choose either afternoon, evening or night
- 31% of 35-54 year-olds choose the morning, while 19% choose mid-day and 46% selected a later time
- Among 18-34 year-olds, only 12% said they were at the best in the morning, while 22% preferred mid-day and 52% were at their best during the afternoon or later
Our survey also may have revealed another source (or perhaps result) of partisan strife in America: Republicans in our survey were more likely to be morning people while Democrats preferred the afternoon hours. 61% of Republicans were at their best during one of the earlier times of the day, while only 32% chose the afternoon or later. 42% of Democrats, on the other hand, preferred the morning or mid-day, while 54% functioned best in the later hours.
When asked how many hours of sleep they needed to be at their best, the vast majority of our respondents said between six and eight hours. The complete results were:
- Less than 6 hours: 6%
- 6 hours: 16%
- 7 hours: 29%
- 8 hours 34%
- 9 hours: 11%
- 10 hours: 2%
- More than 10 hours: 2%
While there was less variation across questions than with the previous question, older individuals were more likely to say they needed less sleep, especially those 55 and older.
