Too many Americans having sleepless nights?

Sleeplessness is taking a toll on their work, family and sex lives, finds the annual poll, titled 2010 ‘Sleep in America’.

“Everybody is sleeping less; we do live in a nation of sleepy people,” said Dr. Jose Loredo, a professor of medicine and director of the Sleep Medicine Center at the University of California, San Diego, who was amongst the members of the committee that conducted the poll.

The study involved 1,007 adults between 25 to 60 years of age, to figure out the differences in sleep habits of people based on their ethnic groups.

It was found that people have cut their sleep-period by two hours in the last 40 years. Experts recommend 8-8.5 hours of sleep every night but most people fail to rest for that long.

Less sleep adversely affecting life
Consequently, there is a high tendency of people to get seized by various diseases early in their lives.

“Sleep duration is a very important variable in health, especially cardiovascular health,” Loredo said. “There is a strong association of sleeping less and hypertension, sleeping less and heart attacks, sleeping less and obesity.”

More than 75 percent of the people polled were apparently aware of the dire consequences of lack of sleep on their health.

Sleeplessness also seems to affect the daily lives of people. Up to 24 percent reported having skipped work or social engagements because they were exhausted. 26 percent among the couples reported they could not indulge in frequent sex because of tiredness.

African-Americans sleep less than Asian-Americans
Interestingly, vast differences were found in the sleeping habits of people on the basis of their race.

Insomnia was found to be the commonest amongst Whites. African-Americans, were the most likely to spend long hours in bed—doing things other than sleeping. They could be praying, watching TV or just worrying about work or relationships; about three in every eight reported various concerns, which keep them up in bed.

When it comes to sleeping, Asian-Americans were found to be the best as five in every six said they usually sleep well through the night. Very few of them reported losing sleep over finance, relationships or other concerns.

The reason behind these ethnic differences could not be determined, but Loredo said, “The differences could be cultural or the environment.”

The recent economic crisis is being listed among the top reason for sleeplessness among Americans. “Many people are experiencing more difficulty with sleep related to economic, social and personal circumstances,” said Dr. Bruce A. Nolan, an associate professor of clinical neurology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences and medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

“It really says that bad days lead to bad nights.”

A good night’s sleep is vital for healthy living and experts recommend a few lifestyle changes that could help. Regular exercise, proper diet, removing the TV from the bedroom, reduced intake of caffeine/alcohol and an organized lifestyle could help you sleep sound at the night.