By Alessandra Kelly
A national holiday in the United States, Nap Day, will be celebrated quarterly through the year. According to the national sleep foundation, almost 50% of Americans claim to feel sleepy during the day between three and seven days per week. Similarly, 35.2% of adults in the country report sleeping for less than an average of seven hours per night. National Nap Day would work to fix such percentages, by providing an extra day of rest for all individuals.
In an effort to persuade the general public for their consideration, listed below includes several reasons Nap Day should become a national holiday:
- 32.6% of working adults report sleeping six or fewer hours per night (2017-2018)
- Between 10% and 30% of adults struggle with chronic insomnia
- Between 30% and 48% of older adults suffer from insomnia
In addition, no one should forget how important sleep is for the young, so…
- Babies need 12-17 total hours of sleep each day, and toddlers need 11-14
- Most recommend for preschool children to get 10-13 hours of total sleep daily
- School-age kids should sleep 9-11 hours
- Around 25% of young children have sleeping problems or experience excessive daytime sleepiness
- 57.8% of middle schoolers and 72.7% of high school students get less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age.
Unfortunately, insufficient sleep comes with plenty of consequences; in fact, insufficient sleep has an estimated economic impact of over $411 billion each year in the United States alone. The consequences do not end here. Drowsy driving remains responsible for more than 6,000 fatal car crashes every year in the states. Similarly, people with severe insomnia are seven times more likely to have work-related accidents than sufficient sleepers. In conclusion, for the improvement of mankind and my sanity, vote for Nap Day as an official holiday as the suggestion enters congressional debates this summer.