Best cities for rest in the U.S.

Getting a good night’s rest is vital to achieving optimal health. Everything from heart health, digestion, and proper brain function is affected by your ability to get a full night’s sleep. Unfortunately, living in a busy city is not always conducive to peaceful rest. Light pollution, transportation noise, and environmental stresses all contribute to the quality of sleep.

Recently, Sleep Junkie conducted a nationwide survey to determine which U.S. city residents can find the best overall sleep. They have analyzed the transportation noise, light pollution, and resident sleeping habits of 21 major U.S. cities to find out.

Based on their findings, the best cities for a restful night’s sleep are San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco, California; and Indianapolis, Indiana. San Antonio was the top city because nearly half of the population (48%) get 7+ hours of sleep per night, which is double that of Phoenix and San Antonio, and 15% higher than the national average. San Antonia also had the lowest incidents of light pollution and transportation noise, making it the best city for sleep in the US.

They also found that the worst cities for sleep in the U.S. are Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Austin, Texas. Their research found that Philadelphia has the 4th highest amount of light pollution of the cities studied. They also found that only 25% of adults in the city get the recommended 7+ hours of sleep per night, which is 8.4% less than the national average. The quality of sleep from respondents in Philadelphia was the second-lowest reported, with only 40% claiming to get regular, good quality sleep each night.

This research suggests that the levels of light pollution and transportation noise could be preventing city-dwelling Americans from finding a quality night’s sleep.