Author
Christopher Boan is a writer with BetTexas.com, covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
Sleepiest States: Texas Among Leaders in the Country in 2023
The calendar has officially flipped to January, with many Americans longing to right the wrongs that beset them the year before.
For many in the Longhorn State, that list will likely include getting more hours of sleep, given Texas’ long work hours and excessively long commutes.
Between the crawl and sprawl of the area’s largest metropolitan areas, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, teemed with the rapid emigration of outsiders, it’s no wonder that Texas as a whole is one of the most sleep-deprived states in the country.
At BetTexas.com, we took a breather from Texas sports betting to look at which states across the U.S. are the most tired going into 2023.
BetTexas.com utilized 3 combined data points to develop the ranking of the 50 states from "most sleepy" to "most well-rested." We utilized WebMD’s ranking of “Most Sleepy” based on surveys, the U.S. Census’ ranking of “Longest Commutes,” and Business.org’s “Most Work Hours.”
Why Texas is So Sleepy
Between Texas’ landmass and its hard-charging population growth, it’s no wonder that the state lags behind its peers when it comes to commuting and work hours.
That’s because the Longhorn State is one of the fastest growing states in America, with its population booming from 20.94 million in 2000 to 29.53 million in 2021, representing a 41% increase.
Of the 10 fastest growing cities in America in 2022, two came from Texas, in Austin and Dallas, with the Longhorn State being the only state with multiple metropolitan areas on the list.
That rapid growth has forced many Texans to move out to the suburbs, increasing their commuting times and extending their work hours if they are unable to work from home.
That’s why it’s no surprise that Texas residents had the 15th-longest commuting times of any state in the country, combined with the fourth-most working hours, as many are working longer hours to try to offset the time they spent on the state’s roadways getting to and from the office.
Two of Texas’ neighbors, in Louisiana and Oklahoma, also found their way into the top-15 sleepiest states in America, with the Pelican State finishing fourth, while the Sooner State ranked in a tie for 10th with North Carolina.
It seems that many Texans will probably be hard at work righting their sleep schedules in 2023, as the state’s residents look to get back on the right side of their circadian rhythms in the new year.
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