Isles top 4-state survey of sleep quality
Hawaii has the lowest percentage of adults saying they don't get enough rest
STORY SUMMARY »
Maybe it's the balmy tradewinds at night or naps after big plate lunches, but Hawaii residents generally are more rested and sleep better than people in the Northeast, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Only 8 percent of Hawaii residents report not getting enough sleep, the agency says. That places Hawaii above the other states studied: New York, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Busy schedules or shift work, irregular schedules, family demands, late-night TV watching and Internet surfing, and use of caffeine and alcohol could be contributing factors.
FULL STORY »
Staff and news services
Eight percent of Hawaii residents are not getting enough sleep, but they are sleeping better than citizens of Delaware, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hawaii was one of four states -- with Delaware, New York and Rhode Island -- in a sleep study reported in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Data from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system survey were analyzed for the study, titled "Perceived Insufficient Rest or Sleep -- Four States, 2006."
Adults reporting they were not getting enough rest or sleep every day for the previous 30 days ranged from Hawaii's 8 percent to 14 percent in Delaware.
CDC also analyzed data from the National Health Interview Study that showed the percentage of adults across all age groups who report sleeping six hours or less increased from 1985 to 2006.
Lela R. McKnight-Eily, behavioral scientist in CDC's Division of Adult and Community Health and lead author of the study, said in announcing the results, "It's important to better understand how sleep impacts people's overall health and the need to take steps to improve the sufficiency of their sleep."
Busy schedules or shift work, irregular sleep schedules, heavy family demands, late-night TV watching and Internet use, and use of caffeine and alcohol could be factors influencing loss of sleep, a 2006 Institute of Medicine report suggested.
The National Sleep Foundation says most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night, while children 5 to 12 years old require nine to 11 hours and adolescents 11 to 17 years old need 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours.
Nationally, an estimated 50 to 70 million people suffer from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders, the study said. Loss of sleep is associated with such health problems as obesity and depression and risk behaviors such as physical inactivity, cigarette smoking and heavy drinking.
Younger people report getting insufficient sleep more than older adults, the study found.
About 13.3 percent of those 18 to 34 years old reported inadequate daily rest or sleep in the past month, compared with 7.3 percent of those 55 and older.
The report said definitions of "enough" sleep and rest and responses to the survey questions were subjective. Also, "rest" and "sleep" were not defined.