https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/dc-residents-lost-the-most-sleep-of-anyone-in-nation-the-night-of-the-presidential-election-study-shows/2016/11/14/bf147d80-aa9b-11e6-8b45-f8e493f06fcd_story.html
D.C. residents lost the most sleep of anyone in nation the night of the presidential election, study shows
By Keith L. Alexander November 14 at 5:48 PM
If it seemed as if Washington-area residents were stumbling around like the walking dead the day after last week’s presidential election, it may be because they stayed up late waiting for results and awoke early the next day.
According to the folks at Fitbit Inc., the maker of the wrist-worn, wireless fitness trackers, residents of the nation’s capital lost more sleep the night of Nov. 8 than people elsewhere in the country. D.C. residents who wore Fitbits logged 49.75 fewer minutes of shut-eye than on a typical night — far above the national average of 29.62 minutes of lost sleep.
Fitbit said Monday that researchers reviewed a sampling of its 10 million users across the nation to see how sleep patterns were affected by the wait to see whether Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton would emerge as the nation’s 45th president.
What the Fitbit could not tell was whether anxiety, excitement or other emotions played into the sleeplessness. The devices use heart rates to tell whether a user is slumbering.
“Was it excitement, stress? That’s not known, but we were surprised and impressed to see such a change in sleep in a typical day,” said Karla Gleichauf, Fitbit research data analyst.
In addition, Virginia and Maryland ranked among the top 10 sleep-deprived states.
Virginia residents came in fourth with about 40.03 minutes of lost sleep, and Maryland residents came in 10th with 36.93 minutes. Other East Coast states, including New York, Florida and Massachusetts, were in the top 10. Alabama and Arkansas also made the list.
Researchers at the San Francisco-based company said this presidential election night marked the greatest sleep-loss numbers since it began tracking patterns in 2009, two years after the company was founded. The second-biggest loss of sleep for users was the night of Super Bowl 50 in January, when average users lost about eight minutes of sleep.
