WASHINGTON - Many Americans suffer from a lack of sleep which is causing mistakes at work, driving accidents and frustrating their sex lives, according to a study published Tuesday.
Sixty percent of adults surveyed in the asked in the annual "Sleep in America" poll by the National Sleep Foundation admitted driving while sleepy, a rise from 51 percent in the 2000 survey. Four percent said they had accidents or narrowly avoided smashes due to driving while sleepy.
Some 31 percent of people reported that their sexual life suffers from a deficiency of sleep, 28 percent reported having missed work or making errors at work.
The report said 75 percent of American adults suffered symptoms of insomnia at least once a week, such as snoring or waking up multiple times duing the night.
By comparison, only 62 percent reported these symptoms in 1999.
However, the report said, 76 percent of people surveyed said they do not believe they have a sleep problem, although only 16 percent said they get enough sleep.
Overall, "half of the country sleeps pretty well, the other half has problems," summed up Richard Gelula, the foundation's director.
The report, based on a survey of 1,506 adults, also noted a decline in the number of people sleeping at least eight hours a night, and a sharp rise in those getting less than six hours.
According to the study, Americans sleep an average of 6.8 hours a night on weekdays - a decline of 0.2 hours a night from 2001 - and 7.4 hours on the weekend, a fall from 8.7 hours four years ago.
Only 26 percent of people surveyed in 2005 said they get eight hours, the level recommended by doctors for recuperation after a day's work, compared with 35 percent in 1998.
In the same period, 16 percent said they averaged less than six hours a night, compared to 12 percent in 1998.
At the same time, fully a quarter of people said they drank at least four caffeinated drinks, like coffee, tea or cola, each day for energy.
People in the United States are still generally early sleepers and early risers: 71 percent said they go to bed between 10:00pm and midnight, while 72 percent say they wake up between 5:00 am and 8:00 am.
While the amount of sleep people said they need to function well averaged 6.5 hours a night, there were differences between men and women.
Women said they required 6.8 hours a night, while men said they needed only 6.2 hours on average.
03/29/2005 20:51 GMT