Getting Your ZZZ's
Reuter's News, February 28, Washington: American's habits, including late night television and Internet surfing are resulting in less and less sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So what you say?
According to experts at the CDC, lack of sleep can be a nightmare to one's physical and mental health, and sleep loss is a poorly recognized public health problem. Sleep researchers have linked chronic sleep loss with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, depression, and increased cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.
The CDC surveyed 19,589 adults in four states. Ten percent reported they did not get enough sleep or rest every single day of the prior month, and 38 percent said they did not get enough on seven or more days of the prior month. Surveyors talked with individuals in New York, Hawaii, Delaware and Rhode Island; they asked how many days in the prior month individuals got inadequate sleep, without asking how many hours they actually slept.
In addition to this information the CDC collected and released additional data that was collected nationwide. The combined results showed that across all age groups the number of adults who report sleeping six or less hours a night has increased significantly between 1985 and the present. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
According to CDC behavioral scientist Lela McKnight-Eily, who led this study, American adults are spending time doing everything but sleeping, including watching TV, surfing the Internet, or in some cases working; in other circumstances there is some type of sleep disorder or physical problem that interferes with a good night's rest. Lifestyle choices place sleep on the back burner, as if we can catch up on sleep when we have more time, such as on the weekends.
McNight-Eily is concerned that adults don't realize that sleep is very important to overall health, and that chronic sleep loss is related to deterioration in both physical and mental health. Darrel Drobnich, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation notes that each year several thousand people die in the US from motor vehicle accidents that occur due to sleepy drivers.
McKnight-Eily recommends that the first step to getting a good night's sleep is to visit your primary care provider to assess whether the sleep problems are related to lifestyle choices or a physical problem. If getting an adequate night's sleep remains a problem after physical health issues are either eliminated, individuals need to address lifestyle choices that are interfering with their sleep. Most important are establishing a routine sleep schedule that is maintained as much as possible, avoiding late-night stimulants such as caffeine and cold medications; they should also avoid excessive alcohol, which can initially put you sleep, but may later awaken you in the night with an inability to go back to sleep.
During the week of March 2 I'll be away on vacation, where I never have trouble sleeping. But right now it's 10:50 PM and I'm writing this blog when I still have to finish packing, shower, and set my clock to get up at 6 AM. Looks like I'll not be getting my 7 hour minimum sleep tonight. Have a great week!
~Laurie
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: sleep, health and wellness
According to experts at the CDC, lack of sleep can be a nightmare to one's physical and mental health, and sleep loss is a poorly recognized public health problem. Sleep researchers have linked chronic sleep loss with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, depression, and increased cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.
The CDC surveyed 19,589 adults in four states. Ten percent reported they did not get enough sleep or rest every single day of the prior month, and 38 percent said they did not get enough on seven or more days of the prior month. Surveyors talked with individuals in New York, Hawaii, Delaware and Rhode Island; they asked how many days in the prior month individuals got inadequate sleep, without asking how many hours they actually slept.
In addition to this information the CDC collected and released additional data that was collected nationwide. The combined results showed that across all age groups the number of adults who report sleeping six or less hours a night has increased significantly between 1985 and the present. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
According to CDC behavioral scientist Lela McKnight-Eily, who led this study, American adults are spending time doing everything but sleeping, including watching TV, surfing the Internet, or in some cases working; in other circumstances there is some type of sleep disorder or physical problem that interferes with a good night's rest. Lifestyle choices place sleep on the back burner, as if we can catch up on sleep when we have more time, such as on the weekends.
McNight-Eily is concerned that adults don't realize that sleep is very important to overall health, and that chronic sleep loss is related to deterioration in both physical and mental health. Darrel Drobnich, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation notes that each year several thousand people die in the US from motor vehicle accidents that occur due to sleepy drivers.
McKnight-Eily recommends that the first step to getting a good night's sleep is to visit your primary care provider to assess whether the sleep problems are related to lifestyle choices or a physical problem. If getting an adequate night's sleep remains a problem after physical health issues are either eliminated, individuals need to address lifestyle choices that are interfering with their sleep. Most important are establishing a routine sleep schedule that is maintained as much as possible, avoiding late-night stimulants such as caffeine and cold medications; they should also avoid excessive alcohol, which can initially put you sleep, but may later awaken you in the night with an inability to go back to sleep.
During the week of March 2 I'll be away on vacation, where I never have trouble sleeping. But right now it's 10:50 PM and I'm writing this blog when I still have to finish packing, shower, and set my clock to get up at 6 AM. Looks like I'll not be getting my 7 hour minimum sleep tonight. Have a great week!
~Laurie
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: sleep, health and wellness
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