Sleep Problems Chicago: Why Residents Sleep Less

A University of Chicago poll released this month found that 42 percent of adults in Cook County now average fewer than six hours of sleep on weeknights, the highest share recorded since the survey began in 2019.

The shift shows up most clearly among people who live within a mile of major transit lines or work flexible hours that keep phones and laptops in use past midnight. Summer heat has added pressure, with overnight lows in the Loop staying above 75 degrees on 18 nights so far this season, according to National Weather Service logs. Residents report waking repeatedly because of train horns, delivery trucks and building air-conditioning units that run nonstop.

Those patterns are visible along Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park, where elevated Blue Line trains pass every eight minutes after 11 p.m., and in the South Loop near Roosevelt Road, where new apartment towers sit directly above loading docks that operate until dawn. The Chicago Park District has responded by adding evening yoga sessions at the Eckhart Park fieldhouse on West Chicago Avenue and at the McGuane Park gym on West 29th Street, both aimed at helping people wind down before bed.

Local programs track the trend

Rush University Medical Center’s sleep clinic on West Harrison Street recorded a 27 percent jump in new patient visits between January and May compared with the same stretch last year. Staff there point to data from wearable trackers showing average bedtime has moved 43 minutes later since 2023. A separate 2025 report by the Metropolitan Planning Council linked longer commutes on the Red Line to shorter total sleep time, with riders who travel more than 45 minutes each way averaging 5.8 hours a night.

Changes that fit daily routines

Clinicians at Rush recommend setting a fixed lights-out time and keeping the bedroom below 68 degrees, a target that can be reached with a $180 portable air conditioner available at hardware stores on North Avenue. They also suggest a 30-minute wind-down without screens, using the same window each evening. People who have joined the Park District’s free 7 p.m. classes at Eckhart Park report falling asleep 18 minutes faster after two weeks, according to a short internal survey the district released last month. For those who still struggle, the sleep clinic offers a four-week group program that begins July 22 and costs $120 for non-members.