CDC: More than one-third of Americans are sleep deprived
ATLANTA - More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis, according to a new study in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“As a nation we are not getting enough sleep,” stated Wayne Giles, director of CDC’s Division of Population Health. “Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night; rising at the same time each morning; and turning off or removing televisions, computers, mobile devices from the bedroom, can help people get the healthy sleep they need.”
Key findings of the study included:
Healthy sleep duration was lower among Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (54%), non-Hispanic blacks (54%), multiracial non-Hispanics (54%) and American Indians/Alaska Natives (60%) compared with non-Hispanic whites (67%), Hispanics (66%) and Asians (63%);
The prevalence of healthy sleep duration varied among states and ranged from 56% in Hawaii to 72% in South Dakota;
A lower proportion of adults reported getting at least seven hours of sleep per day in states clustered in the southeastern region of the United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Previous studies have shown that these regions also have the highest prevalence of obesity and other chronic conditions;
People who reported they were unable to work or were unemployed had lower healthy sleep duration (51% and 60%, respectively) than did employed respondents (65%);
The prevalence of healthy sleep duration was highest among people with a college degree or higher (72%);
The percentage reporting a healthy sleep duration was higher among people who were married (67%) compared with those who were never married (62%) or divorced, widowed or separated (56%).
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults aged 18–60 years sleep at least 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and well-being. Sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and frequent mental distress.
This is the first study to document estimates of self-reported healthy sleep duration (7 or more hours per day) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.