Americans Just Not Getting Enough Sleep, Study Shows

By Anastacia Mott Austin

People in America like to brag that they don’t get enough sleep. They’re too busy doing more "important" things, like surfing the Internet, catching up on work, or multi-tasking.

A new study by the CDC, timed to coincide with March’s National Sleep Awareness Week, shows that U.S. citizens are not feeling rested. In the CDC’s weekly Mortality and Morbidity Report – which makes you wonder just how harmful lack of sleep is – researchers reported the results of a survey of nearly 20,000 adults in the states of Hawaii, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island.

Only 30 percent of those surveyed said they had gotten sufficient sleep for the entire preceding 30-day period. Ten percent reported they had not gotten enough sleep on any of the previous 30 days.

In a related study, the CDC compared sleeping habits of Americans from 1986 and 2006, and found that more Americans now are sleeping less than six hours a night than 20 years ago.

Not enough sleep can cause a host of physical problems. Just a few nights without sufficient sleep can make a normal person’s body react like that of a trenchant diabetic, a recent study shows. Blood sugar regulating mechanisms are apparently repaired or maintained during sleep hours, and going without sleep compromises those systems. Fortunately, the study revealed that the harmful effects were reversed after a couple of nights of good sleep. But for those who regularly skimp on sleep, this is bad news.

Said the study’s lead author, Dr. Lela McKnight-Ely, to reporters, "There are very few studies to assess and address sleep insufficiencies; therefore, more needs to done to better understand the problem and to develop effective sleep interventions."

Other health problems associated with not enough sleep are high blood pressure, obesity, depression, irregular hormone production, a weakened immune system, memory lapses, chronic irritability, and decreased concentration and reaction times. Car accidents are frequently attributed to driver sleepiness, and over 100,000 crashes each year are due to sleepy people at the wheel.

While the study did not indicate the reasons for the decrease in Americans’ sleep habits, many credit busier, faster lifestyles for the problem. Polls show that people feel more stressed out these days, and life is more hectic than it used to be – it’s not just in our imaginations.

According to the National Sleep Foundation’s website, Americans have steadily decreased the amount of sleep they get over the past 100 years, due to a busier lifestyle.

A 2002 study done by the foundation reported that almost 75% of American adults have a problem sleeping on more than a couple of nights each week, and that 37% are so tired that excessive sleepiness is interfering with their daily lives.

So what can be done? Sleep experts offer some recommendations for how to maximize your capacity for a deep, restful sleep:

Keep a regular wake/sleep cycle. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. This helps prepare your body for sleep, and helps regulate the sleep pattern. If you awaken sleepy each morning, try to go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night until you wake up feeling refreshed.

Set up a sleep-conducive environment in your bedroom. Dim the lights, block out any excess noise, and set the temperature at a moderate level that isn’t too hot or too cold.

Don’t drink any caffeine for several hours before bedtime, and avoid alcohol if possible. A nightcap might seem like a good idea at the time, but alcohol consumption can cause a disrupted sleep cycle and middle-of-the-night waking. A heavy meal right before bed is also not a good idea.

Exercise regularly. A good stress reliever, regular moderate exercise has been shown to improve sleeping and reduce the causes of insomnia.

Try to develop a bedtime routine. Think back to childhood, when a bath and a story meant it was time for bed. A warm bath, a calming cup of tea or warm milk, light stretching, a quiet book (no lurid page-turners!) before bed can help calm and settle the mind and body.

Sleep is important. We might be wise to change our brags from how little we manage to sleep to how much – though the difference may be obvious, since we’ll be much more productive, cheerier, and sharper than our sleepy co-workers.

It’s okay – they’ll be too tired to remember what you said anyway.