Consistent sleep deprivation is associated with greater risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, obesity and overall mortality. That's bad news considering new CDC data that reports 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. is not getting enough shuteye.
The findings suggest there is an opportunity to promote sleep health more aggressively as part of patient care in hospitals, according to the CDC.
Here are five additional important points from the data:
- Lower proportions of adults reported getting at least seven hours of sleep in the southeastern U.S. and the Appalachian Mountains, areas that correlate with higher prevalence of chronic conditions like obesity.
- The best sleepers were in South Dakota, with 72 percent of adults reporting an average of at least seven hours per night. Conversely, Hawaii was the state with lowest reported sleep quality, at just 52 percent of adults reporting adequate sleep time.
- Unemployed adults reported lower healthy sleep duration than employed adults, at 51 percent and 60 percent, respectively.
- Healthy sleep duration was higher among married couples compared with non-married respondents, divorcees, widows, widowers and those who are separated.
- Having a college degree or higher was correlated with healthier amounts of sleep.
“As a nation we are not getting enough sleep,” Wayne Giles, MD, director of CDC’s Division of Population Health, said in a statement. “Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night; rising at the same time each morning; and turning off or removing televisions, computers and mobile devices from the bedroom, can help people get the healthy sleep they need.”
More articles on quality:
Checking in after an outbreak: Q&A with Dr. Andrew Ross on how Virginia Mason overhauled its medical scope reprocessing practices
What can hospitals do to take a stand against antibiotic resistance? Inside the University of Chicago's Antibiotic Stewardship program
How prepared are hospitals and physicians for Zika virus?