It is commonly known that most people do not get enough sleep. Not only is insufficient rest generally unhealthy, but it often leads to physical and mental health problems, loss of productivity, lack of energy and concentration, propensity to injuries, and even death. But nothing proves it better than statistics that come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC recently analyzed 2008 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which included people from all fifty American states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands). Results of “Perceived Insufficient Rest or Sleep Among Adults” were released on October 30, 2009, and provided somewhat alarming statistics. Not only did 29 percent of all adults of the 403,981 surveyed for the study sleep less than seven hours per night, but 50 to 70 million people were deemed to have chronic sleep disorders.
To break the numbers down further, females were more prone to insufficient sleep than males at a percentage of 12.4 to 9.9, and non-Hispanic blacks were the ethnic group with the least amount of consistently proper sleep, coming in at 13.3 percent. The age group with the worst sleep habits was 25-34, with 13.8 percent reporting bad sleep throughout the 30-day period, but those aged 65 and older consisted of the group with the most restful nights. Regarding marital status, those who were divorced, separated, or widowed predictably got the least amount of sleep, while the never-married group reported the least amount of problems. And in the category of employment status, those unable to work showed an astounding 25.8 percent with insufficient sleep, but retired and employed people slept the most soundly.
Broken down by states and territories, the states with the largest portion of their populations reporting insufficient sleep were many, but one outranked the others by several percentage points. West Virginia had 19.3 percent of its citizens in that category, while the second state on the list, Tennessee, came in at 14.8 percent. The others on the top twelve list were fairly close, ranging from Kentucky at 14.4 percent to Arkansas at 12.3 percent.
At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota residents sleep well in general, with only 7.4 percent of its population reporting 30 days of insufficient sleep. California was next best at 8 percent, and the District of Columbia reported 8.5 percent. Others below the 9 percent range included Wisconsin, Oregon, and Idaho, respectively.
In general, states in the southeastern United States suffered the greatest amount of sleep deprivation, and thought he study did not examine those geographic numbers in detail, it seems that much of the numbers correlate with employment, lifestyle choices, and chronic diseases which are most prevalent in the Southeast.
What is known is that 7 to 9 hours of sleep is recommended each night, and those unable to achieve that amount of solid sleep on a regular basis should seek assistance from a health care professional. Other methods that may work to improve sleep include exercise, lack of naps during the day, making the sleeping area a comfortable one, avoiding food or stimulating activities within two hours of bedtime, and avoiding caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol before sleep. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule each night, one that is dedicated to sleep, is the best way to find a rhythm and allow the body its proper rest every day.
by – Jennifer Newell/healthnews.com
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