this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
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I don't get why it grinds everyone gears. Isn't it just an hyperbole? (y'know like for the hypersoups ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
I think because it's a pretty gross mischaracterization of the demographic? Usually hyperbole is used for effect to more emphatically illustrate a generally true or accepted point.
The number of Americans who use nightly sleep aids is extremely low. Like, a vast vast majority of people never take them. I don't know anyone who regularly takes them, and honestly I don't know many who take them even occasionally.
So this meme uses hyperbole to drive home the idea that Americans have a pill problem regarding sleep aids and no one in Europe does. I have no idea how the numbers shake out in Europe but I can say in America it is not as characterized. So it's less hyperbole (exaggeration of a fact) and more like a lie.
Ok so I did a quick search and:
So yeah the amount of people "litteraly using medication to sleep every night" ia quite low. The use amongst the population is still generally high so I wouldn't directly classify that hyperbole as a lie. (but I'm not claiming I'm right on that it's a feelings calculation).
I'm also pretty sure these numbers are underreported for example because of the stigma around using "recreational drugs" as an illegal mean to self medicate.
Also it's nice for you to have nobody (that you know of ofc) struggling to sleep.
Where I'd personally feel more nitpicky about that meme is the opposition with Europe. I don't think we sleep much better. A lot of people around me (and myself included) heavily rely on sedation in one form or another to have any semblance of sleep. Although there might be some selection bias since alot of folks I know are handicaped in one way or another so we don't tend to have the best physical and psychic health ^^'
Appreciate you finding numbers when I didn't go to that effort. It makes me wonder if numbers are pretty similar globally. 2% having chronic insomnia doesn't sound completely out of line to me.
Hey \o
The planet litterally when halfway around the sun during the time I took to respond to you.
The definition of chronic insomnia is "at least 3 times a week for at least 3 monthes" (simplified but that's the idea)
So the real number of people with chronic insomnia is at the very least 2% but it's probably closer to those 18%.
I hope time has been kind to you in those last 6 monthes. I've got a new treatment that allows me to have a good night of sleep almost everyday and it's a godsend ^^