Result Restlessness: Snap Poll Reveals Levels of Insomnia Following Election Results

The election was one for the history books. Voter enthusiasm was high, and so was turnout. Supporters of both sides were eager to see what the ballots revealed, with many Americans staying awake long after their usual bedtimes to hear the results, leaving millions deprived of sleep.

But which states were the most sleep-deprived post-election? We conducted our own snap poll of 3,000 voters nationwide to determine who lost the most sleep this Election Day.

Which states had their TVs blaring all night long as voters waited to hear the results? Who was glued to their screens to see how the elections played out? Or in which states did people go to bed early, happy to check the results once the winner had been declared?

Looking at the findings, we can see that the average American stayed awake until 1:02 AM, with Granite Staters the most anxious, staying awake until 4:06 AM ET (this despite New Hampshire not being a swing state).

While those in the Live Free or Die State may not have been that productive at work the day after elections, Hawaii residents seemed less concerned, or perhaps more confident, about the results, going to bed at 9:25 PM. This makes sense, given the significant time difference — residents of the Aloha State would have been aware of Trump’s victory by then.

The top five sleep-deprived states following election night, and their bedtimes:

1) New Hampshire – 4:06 AM

2) Delaware – 3:00 AM

3) Kentucky – 2:48 AM

4) Virginia – 2:39 AM

5) Connecticut – 2:36 AM

The following table shows each state and their bedtimes:

Residents on the East Coast tended to stay up later than those on the West Coast, most likely due to the time difference.

Our poll also revealed which news sources Americans turned to to get their election results. The main sources were the cable news channels CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, which 48% of Americans said they were glued to all night long.

Another 22% of voters surveyed said they preferred instead to follow the social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, and Threads, while 26% said they looked to streaming services such as YouTube or their favorite news apps to get the results.

These popular social media platforms and streaming services were working overtime on election night to ensure their users didn’t experience latency while watching the results.

Only 4% of respondents said they decided to go screen-free, opting instead to listen to the radio or a podcast into the early hours of the morning.

And in terms of who the nation spent time with during the election news, Americans revealed that they spent their time with:

• Friends or family at home: 68%
• Friends or family virtually: 15%
• Alone: 15%
• With a larger group (e.g., a watch party): 2%

And just how did the results affect productivity across the U.S. the day after the election? Well, 47% of people in the survey said they adjusted their schedule the day after voting because they stayed up late.

For those who did stay up late, 29% said the suspense of the election affected their sleep when they did eventually go to bed. And would they do it again? Eighty-six percent of respondents say definitely!

“General elections can have huge implications, and it makes sense people would not only spend hours watching coverage of the election, but say they would do it again. These days, it’s easier than ever to consume election coverage too — I personally not only watched it on cable news, but also had news up on my phone, with live results as they came in,” said HostingAdvice technology expert Christian de Looper.

“Unfortunately for those on the East coast, election results are rarely clear before the early hours of the morning — allowing those on the West coast and Hawaii to get a little more sleep after results are available. That is, of course, if they can sleep.”

For this survey, 3,000 voters were carefully chosen from a geographically representative online panel of double opt-in members. This selection was further tailored to meet the precise criteria required for each unique survey. Throughout the survey, we designed questions to carefully screen and authenticate respondents, guaranteeing the alignment of the survey with the ideal participants.

To ensure the integrity of our data collection, we employed an array of data quality methods. Alongside conventional measures like digital fingerprinting, bot checks, geo-verification, and speeding detection, etc. each response underwent a thorough review by a dedicated team member to ensure quality and contextual accuracy. Our commitment extended to open-ended responses, subjecting them to scrutiny for gibberish answers and plagiarism detection.