Proper handwashing could save a million lives a year, according to an expert — and yet many people are doing it improperly, often due to misconceptions surrounding the practice.

Doctors recommend washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to reduce the spread of infectious diseases.

The NFID 2025 State of Handwashing Report, recently released by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, provides details on Americans’ handwashing habits (and mistakes).

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The report is based on a survey of 3,587 U.S. adults, conducted in November and December 2024 and March 2025.

Robert Hopkins Jr., MD, medical director of NFID in Maryland, spoke to Fox News Digital about what Americans are doing wrong when it comes to handwashing.

1. Only using hand sanitizer

“We have to recognize that there are a number of important infections that hand sanitizers are not effective at preventing,” Hopkins said.

One example is norovirus, a highly contagious stomach virus that is common on cruise ships and is also spread seasonally. 

The virus cannot be killed with hand sanitizer, but is “easily destroyed” with soap and water, according to Hopkins.

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Certain viruses are “encapsulated” and can be destroyed with either soap and water or hand sanitizer, the expert said. However, there is also an “unencapsulated” type of virus, which has an outer coat that does not break down from the alcohol in hand sanitizer.

Using soap and water is a more effective way to kill the germs, the doctor noted.

2. Just coughing into your sleeve

When people cough or sneeze into their sleeve, they could still spread germs afterward.

“If you cough into your sleeve … go ahead and wash your hands with soap and water as well,” Hopkins advised.

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“We also have to recognize that we often bring our hands up close to our face, touch our nose, our glasses, other parts of our face,” noted the doctor, who is based in Arkansas.

“If we have bacteria or viruses on our hands, we can introduce them into our mucous membranes, where we can get infections.”

Nearly half of survey respondents admitted to forgetting or choosing not to wash their hands at key times. (iStock)

3. Washing hands more in certain seasons

The NFID report stated that one in four respondents washed their hands more frequently in the fall and winter, when cold and flu are prevalent.

“The seasonal variance is understandable given that some respiratory diseases, including flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), tend to peak during fall and winter,” the report stated.

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“However, other germs — like those that cause colds, norovirus and other infectious diseases — can spread throughout the year. It is important to maintain proper hand hygiene all year round to help stay healthy.”

4. Not washing hands at critical times

Most adults wash their hands after using the bathroom (69%), handling food (48%) and handling human or animal waste (39%), according to NFID’s report. 

“We need to reinforce the importance of this simple tool.”

Only 30% of respondents, however, reported that they are likely to wash their hands after sneezing or coughing.

Nearly half of survey respondents admitted to forgetting or choosing not to wash their hands at key times, like after visiting a grocery store, restaurant, doctor’s office, pharmacy, clinic or hospital.

“I think most of the public health campaigns around hand hygiene have been focused on healthcare settings,” a doctor said. (iStock)

“We need to reinforce the importance of this simple tool,” Hopkins said of handwashing.

“I think most of the public health campaigns around hand hygiene have been focused on healthcare settings,” he added.

Regarding handwashing as a practice in general, Hopkins emphasized, “We need to bring this back into the fold.”

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“If everybody washed their hands more consistently, we could probably save somewhere in the neighborhood of a million lives a year.”

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Where you live could affect how you sleep at night.

New research from Innerbody revealed that some areas of the country are more sleep-deprived than others.

The study used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other benchmarks from the 100 most populous cities in the U.S., ranking each on sleep duration and quality.

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For each city, the researchers analyzed the prevalence of five metrics — physical activity, obesity, alcohol consumption, mental distress, and noise and light pollution — all of which can impact sleep quality.

Below are the top 10 most sleep-deprived cities, according to the study results.

1. Norfolk, Virginia
2. New Orleans, Louisiana
3. Detroit, Michigan
4. Toledo, Ohio
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Indianapolis, Indiana
7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8. Laredo, Texas
9. Cleveland, Ohio
10. Memphis, Tennessee

The researchers noted that many of these cities are in the eastern half of the U.S., and Ohio appears multiple times.

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While these cities ranked as the most overall sleep-deprived, Honolulu, Hawaii, placed No. 1 for worst sleep duration, with 42.3% of adults getting fewer than seven hours of shuteye per night.

That’s followed by Norfolk, Virginia; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan; and Huntsville, Alabama.

Norfolk, Virginia, is the No. 1 most sleep-deprived city, research shows. (iStock)

Memphis, Tennessee, ranked No. 1 for the city with the worst sleep quality, followed by New Orleans, Louisiana; Norfolk, Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Corpus Christi, Texas.

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The study also identified the country’s least sleep-deprived cities, listed below.

1. Minneapolis, Minnesota
2. Seattle, Washington
3. San Jose, California
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. Boise, Idaho
6. St. Paul, Minnesota
7. Denver, Colorado
8. Lincoln, Nebraska
9. Oakland, California
10. San Francisco, California

The researchers commented that cooler temperatures in some of these locations could boost sleep quality.

Newark, New Jersey, suffers the most in sleep quality due to light and sound pollution, the study found. (iStock)

Sleep expert Wendy Troxel, PhD – a RAND Corporation senior behavioral specialist and licensed clinical psychologist in Utah – confirmed in an interview with Fox News Digital that, per her own research, location can have an impact on sleep.

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“It’s often said that your zip code can influence your health as much as your genetic code,” she said. “Together, these results highlight that this saying holds true for sleep health as well.”

“It’s often said that your zip code can influence your health as much as your genetic code.”

Troxel’s latest research, published in the journal Sleep Health, showed that improving sleep health requires “moving beyond individual-focused approaches and considering broader strategies” in relation to neighborhoods, she said.

This includes investing in neighborhood improvements to enhance sleep quality and overall population health.

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“Considering the strong connection between sleep health issues and preventable chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke, our findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving neighborhood conditions could yield significant benefits,” she added.