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You Are Getting Sleepy

This sound familiar? Large numbers of American get insufficient sleep. Modern life is bad for you. McClatchy: 

The National Sleep Foundation’s latest Sleep in America survey finds that:

-Forty-four percent of those polled report having “sleep problems” almost every night.

-Nearly half wake feeling “unrefreshed” in the morning.

-Twenty-nine percent fell asleep or became “very sleepy” on the job during the previous month, and 32 percent report that they regularly “drive drowsy.”

The National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of adults have some symptoms of insomnia in a given year, and as many as 15 percent have chronic insomnia.

Why the sleeplesness?

We’re working longer hours, cutting into our bed time. Electronic gadgets beckon for attention 24 hours a day. Worries about everything from war to gas prices to recession make us toss and turn. We’re living longer, often with medical conditions that can interfere with sleep.

Sleep deprivation is no laughing matter. Chronic insomnia has been linked to problems such as gastrointestinal distress, car accidents, bipolar disorder and diabetes.

The article details some typical sleep problems for all age groups. Here’s the one for working adults, lumped together as middle-agers:

Demanding jobs, long commutes, young children and aging parents are among the factors that keep people in their 30s and 40s awake at night.

Americans who have full-time jobs are now spending five to 10 hours a week doing extra work from home, and they are going to bed later, usually around 11 p.m., according to the Sleep Foundation’s latest poll.

To get a decent night’s sleep, be sure to maintain good “sleep hygiene,” sleep researchers say. Try to keep regular sleep hours, and make an effort to get eight hours of sleep each night. Make sure the bedroom is dark, cool and quiet. Exercise regularly, but make sure your workout is finished at least three hours before bedtime.

Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex, not as a home office. Put work aside two to three hours before sleeping. Linen sprays scented with lavender or rose help some people feel more relaxed.

All that’s fine if you can do it. I was ignorant of the very existence of lavendar linen spray until about 30 seconds ago, and think I will continue to struggle mightily with my own sleep deprivation issues such as they are without it.

Then there’s the Sunday night thing: 

Workers all across the globe find it difficult to shut-out work-related stress when going to bed on Sunday night, according to a new global survey.

Maynard, Mass.-based Monster.com (NASDAQ: MNST) conducted a global poll that asked, “Does the thought of going to work on Monday affect your Sunday night’s sleep?”

For most the answer was yes.

In the United States, 82 percent of respondents reported having sleep issues. In France, 83 percent reported problems; in the U.K., 85 percent reported issues.

“A consistent lack of sleep not only impedes a worker’s ability to think clearly and decisively, it can actually perpetuate additional stress on the job, which can lead to additional sleep problems,” Norma Gaffin, director of career content at Monster, says in a statement.

According to Monster, to combat stress and get a better night’s sleep, workers should try a few remedies that include: focus on what goes well during the day, as opposed to the problems; create a to-do list; and take a vacation.

Topics: other

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:28 pm on Wednesday, April 16, 2008

2 Responses to “You Are Getting Sleepy”

1. redc1c4 Says:
   April 17th, 2008 at 2:54 am

   my biggest loss of sleep is caused by trying to keep up with all the witty, erudite and informative posts on the various blogs i read , present company included.

   to insure that i get the most out of what sleep i do get, i read the McClatchy web site just before i face plant in the key board.

   /i’ll sleep when i’m dead

2. Fatty Bolger Says:
   April 17th, 2008 at 9:03 am

   I’ve never had a problem with this, so I was amazed when I found out at family gatherings that almost everybody in my family past their 20’s has trouble sleeping at night. 82% would accurately describe it. A good number take sleeping aids, which really surprised me. The strange thing is that they run the gamut in age, job type, number of children (if any), health, and financial security. Some clearly have more to worry about than others, but they all seem to have the same trouble sleeping.

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