Study: Miami Is Worst City in the Nation for Sleep

Between the incessant traffic noise, 24/7 droning sub-bass in the distance, and grinding work schedules, trying to get some decent shut eye in the Magic City can be a challenge. 

If you've had suspicions that Miami is a potent inducer of bloodshot eyes and chronic sleep deprivation, a report by the online marketplace Decluttr may provide some confirmation.

The study ranks Miami as the worst city in the country — dead last — for getting a quality night's sleep, followed by Newark, Santa Ana (California), Los Angeles, and Cleveland. The study authors say their rankings factor in health metrics, nighttime light exposure, and road and plane noise in each of the cities.

"A coastal city that loves to party at all hours of the day and night, Miami ranked the lowest on our list of cities getting quality sleep with many deterring health factors, and very high night-light pollution, as well as street noise," the report reads.

To conduct the study, Decluttr combined nationwide light and noise data with health and wellbeing-related scores by the digital publishing company Sleep Foundation for cities with populations of 250,000 and greater.

A precursor study by Sleep Foundation assessed sleep quality by analyzing data from consumers who use the Sleep Cycle software app, which tracks sleep patterns. The app tracks how loudly users snored, how much movement they have while sleeping, and how much time they spend in bed, among other criteria.

The Sleep Foundation study found that Miami was the worst city for sleep on the east coast. But it ranked Miami as slightly better for sleep than a small handful of cities nationwide. Los Angeles and Santa Ana, California, along with Corpus Christi, Texas, were ranked the worst by Sleep Foundation, in that order. 

While some cities provide a relatively tranquil nighttime environment to facilitate a good night's sleep, Miami's elevated traffic, light exposure, and plane noise make that restful slumber more challenging, says Liam Howley, a spokesperson for Decluttr.

Howley notes that over the past year, the company has tracked a surge in online searches for sleep aids.

“We’ve seen Google searches for ‘help me sleep’ surge by 123%, and the growth runs parallel to the increase in search volume regarding sleep conditions," Howley wrote in an email to New Times.

The Decluttr report notes that 71 percent of Americans under 50 years old stare at screens or smart devices at bedtime "often," while 46 percent of that demographic look at screens at bedtime "very often."

Serious about your sleep? You might want to plan a trip to Virginia Beach, Colorado Springs, Lexington (Kentucky), Tucson, New Orleans, or Jacksonville. According to Decluttr, they're some of the best American cities for sleep.