Americans Sleepier Than Ever

But new poll shows two-thirds just accept it and do best to cope

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

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MONDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Americans are working later and sleeping less, a dangerous combination which can cause drowsiness at the wheel, loss of productivity and a lack of interest in sex.

And while most people know this is a problem, about two-thirds of them aren't doing anything about it, a new poll shows.

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"People are actually acknowledging it's an issue and not doing any thing about it," said Mark R. Rosekind, a former board member of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). "This can be lethal in your car."

The troubling numbers come from a new Sleep in America poll released Monday by the NSF as part of its 11th annual National Sleep Awareness Week.

This year's survey focuses much more on the workplace and issues of safety and productivity than previous surveys, said Rosekind, who was on the poll task force.

"Economic loss from sleep deprivation or sleep disorders generally is huge," said Dr. Samir Fahmy, director of the sleep lab at Kings County Hospital in New York City. "It's not just loss of money for medical care, it's loss of money for days off the job, accidents, lawyers for accidents, doctors, hospital stays, decreased productivity. It's like a chain reaction."

And that doesn't even begin to take into account medical and quality-of-life-related issues.

"People [on not enough sleep] will just not function cognitively as well as they should. They're not going to be as attentive, they're going to make more mistakes, be more irritable," said Dr. Nicholas Rummo, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco, N.Y. "More seriously, there is certainly some degree of auto accidents that are the result of falling asleep and sleep deprivation, and there may be some other health implications in terms of heart health and more. There are some studies that tend to show that immune systems don't work as well."

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