Persons having less sleep put themselves at risk of obesity, heart disease and other issues, United States’ researchers said on Thursday.
According to NBC news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the findings also suggest that new habits have to be learnd to improve ones health, like going to bed at regular times and turning off televisions and other electronic devices.
CDC experts carried out the health surveys on more than 400,000 Americans. They were asked how many hours of sleep they get each night, among other questions.
On average, only 65 percent said they get seven hours or more of sleep a night, the team reported.
“Sleeping less than seven hours per night is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, frequent mental distress, and all-cause mortality,” the team wrote in the CDC’s weekly report.
People in Hawaii are the most likely to burn the candle at both ends, with just 56 percent of residents reporting an average of seven hours a night or more. South Dakotans have the best sleep record: 72 percent of people there said they sleep plenty.
And only about half of blacks report they get enough sleep, compared to two-thirds of whites and Hispanics.
People in the Southeast and Appalachian regions reported the least sleep, on average. “Previous studies have shown that these regions also have the highest prevalence of obesity and other chronic conditions,” the CDC team wrote.
“People who reported they were unable to work or were unemployed had lower healthy sleep duration (51 percent and 60 percent, respectively) than did employed respondents (65 percent). The prevalence of healthy sleep duration was highest among people with a college degree or higher (72 percent).”
Doctors need to ask about sleep, the CDC suggested.
“Employers can consider adjusting work schedules to allow their workers time to get enough sleep,” CDC said. “Employers can also educate their shift workers about how to improve their sleep.”
The artificial lights in computer and television screens are a well documented cause of insomnia. And the CDC says that there’s no real proven sleep aid, even though nearly 9 million Americans say they take sleeping pills.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment