Election Stress and Sleep: What Studies Show
Election stress and sleep: what studies found around the 2016, 2020 and 2024 US elections, how large the changes were, how long they lasted and what is unknown.
Ayse Tara, BSc in Nursing
10/27/20266 min read
Election stress and sleep are linked in several studies, and this year the two collide. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, two days after the US clocks go back. Researchers have measured sleep around presidential elections. We found no study of a midterm.
This article walks through what the studies measured, how large the changes were and what they cannot tell us. If your nights get restless this week, Hypnagogia-Pass is one calm wind-down to consider. Every study below is observational, and each comes with its limits.
Key takeaways
In 10.5 million sleep records from more than 69,000 app users, sleep in the US was 12 minutes 49 seconds shorter on the night after the 2016 presidential election than in the wider region.
In a 2020 daily-report study of 437 US adults, Election Day brought less sleep and lower sleep efficiency, with more stress, more negative mood and more drinking.
In a nationally representative National Sleep Foundation survey, 17% of 991 US adults said the 2024 election had a negative impact on their sleep.
In 186 first-time voters tracked with actigraphy, sleep efficiency fell in the days before the 2024 election, and most measures were back to baseline by the end of 11 days.
None of these studies measured insomnia disorder, and we found none on midterm elections.
What studies show about election stress and sleep
The largest dataset comes from a smartphone sleep-tracking app. A 2019 study in Social Science and Medicine analyzed 10.5 million geo-located sleep records from more than 69,000 Sleep as Android users in Europe and North America. In the UK, mean sleep fell by 16 minutes 21 seconds the night after the 2016 Brexit vote. In the US, it fell by 12 minutes 49 seconds the night after the presidential election, compared with the whole studied region, and rose by 5 minutes 9 seconds the next night. The authors also report more people with very short sleep. App users are not a random sample, and the app records movement, not brain activity.
A 2022 study in Sleep Health used daily reports from 437 US and 106 non-US adults, collected from October 1 to 13 as a baseline and again from October 30 to November 12, 2020. It was a non-representative convenience sample. Election Day brought reduced sleep amount and efficiency, with heightened stress, more negative mood and more alcohol use. Non-US participants also reported less sleep and more stress than at baseline, though US participants were affected more in several areas. Disrupted sleep on election night correlated with changes in emotional well-being and drinking. For how worry and sleep go together outside election weeks, see our review of sleep anxiety surveys.
How many people lose sleep over an election?
A 2026 paper in Sleep Health analyzed National Sleep Foundation data from a nationally representative random sample of 991 US adults after the 2024 election, and compared it with an earlier sample of 1,364 surveyed before it. In the immediate aftermath, 17% said the election had a negative impact on their sleep. The rate differed by political affiliation, education and other demographics. It is self-report, so it shows how people felt, not how long they slept.
A 2024 American Academy of Sleep Medicine survey put the figure higher. In an online poll of 2,006 US adults, run by a market research agency for the academy in May 2024, 46% said they had lost sleep over worries about the election, and 34% said they expected to feel tired the morning after Election Day. It was commissioned by a professional society and asked before the vote, so it reflects what people said, not what sleep sensors recorded.
Movement sensors give a tighter picture. A 2026 study in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine followed 186 first-time voters, average age 20.6, with actigraphy and daily diaries for 11 days around November 2024. In the days before the election, sleep efficiency and positive mood fell, while distress, negative mood and rumination rose. Most measures were back to pre-election levels by the end of the study, but mood stayed lower. The group is small and young, and 153 of the 186 voted for Harris, so it cannot speak for everyone. If rumination is what keeps you up, our guide to overthinking before sleep is a place to start.
A third 2026 study in PLOS ONE asked 931 Americans about the night of the 2024 election. People who dreamed about the election felt more negative about it the next morning, including about their personal and the country's future. The pattern held for Democrats and Independents, not for Republicans. The study cannot say whether the dreams intensified the feelings or the feelings shaped the dreams, and our post on why we have nightmares covers what is known about bad dreams in general.
Is election stress the same as insomnia?
No study above measured insomnia disorder. What they measured was short-term change: minutes of sleep, sleep efficiency and self-reported disruption. In the first-time voter study, most indicators recovered within days. That fits a picture of brief, stressor-linked sleep loss around the vote, not a new sleep disorder.
Two limits matter. All of the studies cover presidential elections, so we cannot say whether a midterm has the same size of effect. And none tested whether people who already sleep poorly react more strongly. If your mind races at night whatever the news, a mind racing at night looks at the thoughts themselves.
When the clock change meets Election Day
US clocks go back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, and the vote follows on Tuesday, November 3. In our review of the clock change, a 2025 UK Biobank study of 11,780 adults found that sleep on the Sunday the clocks went back was about 33 minutes longer than the Sunday before, not a full hour. Our post on the November clock change and sleep covers that week in detail.
For the history of the clock change and the permanent-time debate, see who invented daylight saving time.
Something to try tonight
Hypnagogia is the drifting, half-lit stretch between waking and sleep. Hypnagogia-Pass is our library of 30 videos, more than 2,400 minutes in total, curated by CantSwitchOff to walk you through the hypnagogic pass: a word, then a matching picture, one after another on a dark screen, with no talking and soft background sound. No ads. It is something to try, not a treatment. You can read why we built Hypnagogia-Pass before you decide. If you wake at 3 a.m. with the news in your head, see what to do when you cannot sleep right now.
Your election stress and sleep questions, answered
Can election stress cause insomnia?
Studies link election stress to less sleep and lower sleep efficiency around the vote, but none we found measured insomnia disorder. In the 2024 first-time voter study, most sleep measures recovered within days. These studies are observational, so they show a link, not a cause.
How long does election anxiety last?
It varies, and the studies measured days, not months. In a 2024 diary study of 186 first-time voters, most sleep and mental health measures returned to pre-election levels by the end of 11 days, but mood stayed lower than baseline. The 2020 study followed people only until November 12.
Why can't I sleep before election day?
We found no study that tested the reason directly. The 2024 diary study found that distress and rumination rose in the days before the vote while sleep efficiency fell. That fits a stress explanation, but it is an association from a small sample.
Why can't I sleep on election night?
No study we found tested the reason. What was measured: in the largest dataset, sleep fell 12 minutes 49 seconds the night after the 2016 US election, compared with the wider region, and rose 5 minutes 9 seconds the next night. In 2020, Election Day reduced sleep amount and efficiency. These are averages for specific groups, not predictions for you.
Does the clock change affect sleep in election week?
In a 2025 UK Biobank study of 11,780 adults, sleep on the Sunday the clocks went back was about 33 minutes longer than the Sunday before, not 60. There was some catch-up sleep that week, though less than after the spring change. Individuals vary, and the comparison was between different people. Our post on the November clock change has the details.
Know someone who's awake right now?
If you have a friend you have recently talked with about election stress and sleep, or someone you think needs this information, send them this article. It brings them what the science says, in plain words.
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If trouble sleeping lasts for weeks, or if racing thoughts come with other symptoms that worry you, please talk with a doctor. This article is general information, not medical advice, and Hypnagogia-Pass has not been tested in a clinical trial.
Election Stress and Sleep: What Studies Show
Election stress and sleep: what studies found around the 2016, 2020 and 2024 US elections, how large the changes were, how long they lasted and what is unknown.
