Are We Sleep Deprived or Not?

When I got back from vacation this week and was brushing up on the headlines I’d missed, this one immediately caught my eye:

“Sleep well: American zombie myths dispelled. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans get 8 hours of shut-eye nightly.”

The person who penned that headline knew it would cause a stir, at least in my camp.

The article I read online pointed to a new study done by the University of Maryland, indicating that Americans get about 8 hours of sleep a night, and possibly more in recent years.

This data is clearly contrary to what the non-profit National Sleep Foundation reports: that we get only 7 hours nightly or less.

The article also mentions the fact the NSF is funded in part by pharmaceutical companies that make sleep aids, which I think tacitly suggests it may have an interest in reporting sleep deprivation. I don’t agree with that remark, but that’s beside the point.

So, who is right?

What’s the real story? Are we sleep deprived or not?

In all honesty, it’s hard to know for sure. Every study that tries to figure this out uses a different method. The Maryland one considered federal data collected via telephone surveys and time-use diaries (records from people who write down how they spend their time each day).

The NSF polls people annually, but it doesn’t exactly target the same number or type of people as other studies. It’s also done over the course of one year, whereas the Maryland study came from three years of data. Suffice it to say it’s nearly impossible to make real comparisons. Apples and oranges.

What shouts out at me, though, is that UM notes that the average amount of sleeping time for adults has increased by about 3 hours per week in the past decade.

8.4 Hours of Sleep Per Night?

Are people really getting 8.4 hours a night, which is what UM suggests? And are we averaging as much sleep nowadays as we did 40 years ago?

I have a hard time believing that, from both a practical perspective and as a practicing sleep doctor who sees more than his fair share of zombies seeking help. Forty years ago we didn’t have the Internet, the always-on cell phones, the TV in every room, the 50+ hour work week, working moms as the norm, and the 24/7 markets, convenience stores, and CNN.

Put simply, we didn’t have nearly as many excuses to scrimp on sleep. Oh, and let’s not forget how far we commute these days. Lots of people trekking into metropolitan areas have to get up before dawn and drive home in the dark to avoid traffic; what kind of sleep do those people get?

Sleep Surveys Can’t Do it All

Now, you might wonder, “What’s the point”? And you’re right: All the sleep surveys in the world won’t help you get more and better sleep. That’s something you have to do on your own. Sleep surveys point to problems, but they certainly don’t solve them. Whether we’re a sleep deprived nation or not, if you’ve got problems with sleep, it’s 100 percent for you. You shouldn’t care where you fall in the spectrum.

So don’t let this last survey keep you up at night. Focus on putting sleep at the top of your list–and aspiring to the 8.4 hours a night that UM says you get.

Sleep Well

with Michael Breus, PhD, ABSM