“Ceiling time.”
It’s not a phrase many are familiar with, but it’s a concept sports fans know all too well.
Ceiling time is the part of the night when you’re ready to sleep, but your mind has other thoughts literally.
It’s the minutes … if not hours when your mind spins in the dark. It’s time spent—you guessed it—staring at the ceiling, agonizing over the important things in life.
What will happen to my job? Am I ever actually going to learn Italian? Will the Oregon Ducks finally, finally win a National Championship?
These are the questions that keep us up at night. But the question I know you’re now wondering … the question that will keep you up at night if you don’t read on … is exactly how much sleep are fans losing?
Let’s find out.
The Stats
Image: ChatGPT
A recent study claims that one in four sports fans deal with insomnia when their favorite teams and athletes are on the struggle bus.
In these scenarios, the average American spends 62 minutes per night stuck in Ceiling Time, contemplating what’s wrong with their squads.
Unsurprisingly, fans in New Jersey top out among participating states at 91 minutes. Which makes sense. Philadelphia Eagles diehards throw snowballs at Santa Claus when the team is down. The Nets have been nothing more than an experiment since arriving in Brooklyn. And have you ever met a Knicks fan? That city never sleeps anyway; try adding a playoff elimination to the mix. Fuggedaboudit.
On the flip side, Utah loses the least sleep in sports, with an average of just 23 minutes.
I’ve never walked around Salt Lake City before, but it looks lovely—peaceful even. Utah has fewer teams and more beautiful mountain ranges than most sports towns, which must help keep the good vibes.
The real question here is, what about the Pacific Northwest?
How much time are fans in Oregon and Washington counting sheep clad in kits and helmets after losses and missed field goals? How do our fans compare to the rest of the nation?
It’s time to take a look.
Oregon Sports Fans
Image: ChatGPT
Whether you’re a fan of the Oregon Ducks or Oregon State Beavers—and whether you ride with Rose City or Rip City—you know good times, bad times, and everything in between.
According to the study, those bad times aren’t as nightmarish as they may seem.
Oregon sports fans lose an average of just 34 minutes of sleep per night to Ceiling Time. That’s tied with South Carolina for the fourth-lowest number across states in the study, and it’s behind only Kentucky, Rhode Island, and, of course, Utah.
Quite frankly, it’s also an impressive number, considering everything fans in the state have been through.
From injuries, trade requests, and rebuilds for the Blazers to Civil War showdowns and conference realignment in college football, times can be tough. But I guess Oregonians are optimistic.
Or, at least they have the happiest chill sleep gummies to go full Steph Curry: Night-Night.
Washington Sports Fans
Image: ChatGPT
Another phrase for “Ceiling Time” is Post-Game Insomnia. If you’re a fan of the Huskies, Cougars, or Sounders, you’ve been there. And if you’re a SuperSonics fan, you’ve been in Post-Franchise Insomnia since 2007.
Unfortunately for Washingtonians, you spend an average of 45 minutes per night losing sleep during Ceiling Time.
That’s 11 more minutes than your neighbor to the south, but it’s also tied with four other states for ninth-best: Nevada, Maine, Delaware, and Louisiana.
Of course, it could be worse. You’re not Utah, but you’re definitely not New Jersey, either. And Top-10 status is nothing to lose sleep over—especially knowing California claims Top-10 status on the other side with a morning-busting 72 minutes of sleep lost per night to sports.
Not being Jersey and not being Cali? That feels like a win every day of the week for Washington.
So rest up, folks. Get that beauty sleep when you can because things are just getting started.
It’s a long sports season ahead, with October around the corner.
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