Average bedtime by US county

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U.S. citizens spend in bed an average of 7 hours and 18 minutes each night. They go to bed at 11:39 p.m. and wake up at 7:09 a.m.

But most Americans have conflicts between social clock time and natural solar time. According to the Journal of Health Economics, living on the wrong side of a time zone’s boundary can negatively affect a human’s sleep cycles, health, and even wallet.

The map below shows how time zones shape human behavior. The further West you get in each time zone generally gets bluer. For example, If sunrise in Nashville (Tennessee) is 6:30 a.m., it’s about 7:30 a.m. in Amarillo (Texas). Thus, if sunset in Nashville is 8 p.m., it’s about 9 p.m. in Amarillo. Yet, both these cities are located in the Central time zone.

This map below, created by Stefano Maggiolo, clearly shows the difference between clock time and natural solar time. The ‘early’ places are shown in green while the ‘late’ areas in red. The deeper the tone, the more out-of-sync time is.