Sleep 7 Hours to Avoid Cardiovascular Disease

Seven hours is the magic number for a healthy heart. Sleeping too little or too much can elevates your risk for heart disease, a new study shows.

Heart attack, stroke, coronary heart disease and angina are twice as prevalent among people who consistently get less than five hours of sleep. Sleeping in isn’t much better. The rate of cardiovascular disease is one-and-a-half times higher for people who sleep nine hours per night.

The conclusions were based on data from a large 2005 survey featuring questions about sleep length and incidence of heart disease. A study that analyzed the data was published in the August 1st issue of SLEEP.

The authors analyzed how 30,307 adults responded to the 2005 National Health Interview Survey. The survey also collected information on demographic factors, socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle and health. About 2,100 respondents reported some form of heart disease.

Surprisingly, people who slept six or eight hours a night also had a moderately elevated risk. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends the average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep, though individual sleep needs may vary.

Adults under 60 years of age had the highest association between short sleep and cardiovascular disease. This relationship affects women more than men.
The initial data was adjusted to account for complicating factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index. The relationship between sleep duration and heart disease remained high after researchers excluded subjects with diabetes, hypertension and depression.

Short sleep duration is associated with metabolic disease and hardened arteries. Long sleep duration may be related to other underlying problems.

If you’re meeting your sleep needs yet still feel fatigued you may have a sleep-related breathing disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to heart problems or even death. Sleep apnea occurs when excess fatty tissue in the throat periodically interrupts air flow. Anyone can have sleep apnea, even though it’s most common in obese or older populations. There are several effective treatments, but an overnight sleep study is first required for diagnosis.

Sleeping well should be as much a priority as staying physically active in protecting your heart health. Even an extra hour of sleep can potentially save your life in the long term.

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Long sleepers at risk, mortality study warns against abnormal sleep lengths

The findings of a new study on sleep and mortality might make you think twice about sleeping in regularly. The long-term consequences might be dire; the study suggests people who sleep too much or too little sleep are at high risk for death.

The study published in the May issue of SLEEP adds to the chorus of warnings about the harmful effects of poor sleep habits.

Researchers analyzed pooled data from 16 previous studies. They looked at questionnaire results and death certificates.

They found short sleep duration, defined in the study as less than seven hours, raised people’s risk for death by 12 percent.

People who slept more than eight or nine hours a night were 30 percent more at risk.

Because of the limitations of the study, the researchers were unable to determine whether abnormal sleep length led to the spike in mortality or the subjects were already unhealthy therefore they slept longer.

The authors speculate those sleeping habits could be due to undiagnosed health issues. Further research is needed to find out if sleep duration is an indicator of poor health.

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Sleep & IQ: Are Kids Smarter if They Sleep Longer?

A new study from Canada examined the relationship between sleep duration and intelligence in children.

The study involved 39 healthy children. They were between 7 and 11 years old. Their sleep was measured at home by actigraphy for four nights. This identified their habitual sleep duration on weeknights.

Intelligence was measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children — Fourth Edition. The WISC-IV provides four index scores and a full-scale IQ score.

Results show that children who slept longer performed better on the WISC-IV. Longer habitual sleep duration was associated with higher overall IQ scores.

Getting more sleep also was related to better perceptual reasoning. This involves solving problems using visual, non-verbal information. And reported competence and academic performance were higher in children who slept longer.

Last year the Sleep Education Blog reported on how you can help your child sleep better. The AASM recommends that children between the ages of 7 and 11 get about 10 hours of nightly sleep.

Basic tips that parents should put into practice include:

• Letting children fall asleep independently


• Putting children to bed before 9 p.m.


• Establishing a bedtime routine that includes reading


• Helping children avoid caffeine


• Keeping a TV out of the bedroom

Research also has shown that long-lasting sleep problems in children can affect their cognitive development. Get help for your child’s ongoing sleep problem at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

Read more about sleep and children.

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Sleep Parenting Across Cultures

Last week a Salon article addressed the controversial topic of sleep parenting. Ada Calhoun shared how she and her husband grappled with conflicting advice about what was best for their newborn.

“Cry it out” sleep training. Attachment parenting. Baby management. New parents can become overwhelmed by all of the advice offered by parenting books.

Now Calhoun is joining the debate with her own book. Instinctive Parenting advises parents to “find what works for you and your family and ditch the anxiety and judgment.”



But sleep parenting can vary widely across cultures. A recent study compared countries that are mostly Caucasian with those that are primarily Asian.

The study involved parents of 29,287 infants and toddlers. Seventeen countries were represented. Parents completed a questionnaire on the Internet.

Results published in March show that young children in Asian countries went to bed later and slept less. Bed sharing and room sharing also were more common in their homes.

Bedtimes ranged from 7:27 p.m. in New Zealand to 10:17 p.m. in Hong Kong. Total sleep time ranged from 11.6 hours in Japan to 13.3 hours in New Zealand.

In New Zealand only 5.8 percent of parents reported sharing a bed with their infant or toddler. In contrast bed sharing was reported by 83.2 percent of parents in Vietnam.

The initial results of the study were presented at SLEEP 2008. Another report based on the research will be published in April.

It shows that 57 percent of parents in Caucasian countries reported that their child falls asleep independently in his or her own crib or bed. This was reported by just four percent of parents in primarily Asian regions.

In 2006 the AASM published practice parameters for bedtime problems and night wakings in young children and infants. A task force of experts reviewed all of the current research on this topic.

The report recommends sleep training to help infants and toddlers learn to fall asleep on their own. You can read a summary of the report on SleepEducation.com.

Discuss any ongoing sleep problems with your child’s doctor. He or she may refer you to an AASM-accredited sleep center for help.

Read more about sleep and children.

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Social Networks: Teen Drug Use & Sleep Loss

A new study examined the relationship between sleep loss and marijuana use among teens and their friends.

The study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The researchers mapped the social networks of 8,349 teens. The students filled out questionnaires. They also named up to five male and five female friends in their social network.

Students had an average age of 16 years at the start of the study. They reported that they usually got an average of 7.8 hours of sleep per night.

Results show that a teen was 11 percent more likely to report sleeping seven hours or less if a friend usually slept for seven hours or less. This effect increased to 20 percent when the friendship was mutual.

Further analyses found that a teen was 19 percent more likely to use marijuana if a friend usually slept for seven hours or less. Twenty percent of this effect came from the spread of sleep behavior from one person to another.

This effect was additive. The rate of marijuana use increased with each additional friend who was a short sleeper.

"The evidence suggests that poor sleep leads to drug use in adolescents, and that both sleep and drug use spread through social networks,” the authors concluded.

They suggested that poor sleep may promote drug use by affecting how teens make decisions. Poor sleep in teens has been shown to reduce impulse control. They also wrote that poor sleep may affect teen alcohol use in similar ways.

The NIDA reports that marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S. A recent survey found that 42 percent of 12th-graders had tried marijuana at least once. Eighteen percent of 12th graders and 14 percent of 10th graders had used it within the past month.

Last year a study found that childhood sleep problems were more likely to predict early onset of substance use in boys than girls. Sleep problems between 3 and 8 years of age predicted the onset of alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use among boys.

Get help for your teen’s sleep problems at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you. Get Facts Parents Need to Know and Facts for Teens about marijuana from the NIDA.

Read more about sleep and teens.

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Sleep & Race in America

Author Studs Terkel called race “the American obsession.” In the U.S. race colors almost everything we do – even sleep.

Today the National Sleep Foundation released the results of the 2010 Sleep in America Poll. It focused on the relationship between sleep and race.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,007 adults between the ages of 25 and 60. The sample was equally divided among four groups: Asians, blacks, Hispanics and whites.

Results show that the average reported nightly sleep time on workdays or weekdays was less than seven hours in each group. Blacks had the lowest average of 6.2 hours, and whites had the highest average of 6.9 hours.

About 60 percent of blacks were “short sleepers” who reported sleeping less than seven hours per night during the week. Fifty percent of Hispanics, 41 percent of Asians and 34 percent of whites also were short sleepers.

The AASM reports that individual sleep needs vary from one person to another. But most adults need about seven to eight hours of nightly sleep.

Other surveys also have found that self-reported sleep durations differ by race. A recent analysis of time-use surveys found that African-Americans had higher odds of short sleep. Asians and Hispanics were less likely to be short sleepers. Survey data released by the CDC last year suggested that Hispanics were more likely to be sound sleepers.

Research also has been linking short sleep with health problems such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Habitual sleep duration may help explain why the rates of these problems can vary widely by race.

The CDC reports that blacks are 51 percent more likely to be obese than whites. Hispanics are 21 percent more likely to be obese than whites.

And last year a study found that blacks had a 78 percent increased risk of obesity related to short sleep. The risk of obesity related to short sleep in whites was increased by 43 percent.

So where do you fit in these statistics? Regardless of your race, are you getting enough sleep?

Maybe you need to make it a priority to get more sleep. Perhaps you can turn off the TV or the computer 30 minutes earlier at night.

Or maybe you have a problem that prevents you from sleeping well. Insomnia. Sleep apnea. Restless legs. Or one of the many other sleep disorders. In this case it may be time for you to contact an AASM-accredited sleep center for help.

Getting enough sleep – and sleeping well – will help you feel, think and perform your best. Maybe sleep should become the new American obsession.

Read about other recent sleep surveys and learn more about sleep and race.

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Sleep Loss & Weight Gain: Genetic or Behavioral?

There is growing evidence linking chronic sleep loss with an increased risk of obesity. Short sleep durations are associated with higher body mass index (BMI) scores.

What is the nature of this relationship? Is it genetic? Environmental? Behavioral?

A new study provides some intriguing insight. The results were published last month in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

The study surveyed 612 pairs of twins. Each pair was raised together in the same household.

They had an average age of about 37 years. They reported their height, weight and habitual sleep duration.

Results show that 25 percent of participants reported sleeping less than seven hours per night. These short sleepers had a higher average BMI (26.0) than those with a typical sleep duration of seven to 8.9 hours per night (24.8).

An adult with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered to be at a “normal” weight. An adult who has a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered to be “overweight.”

The results were confirmed in an analysis of 423 monozygotic pairs. Each of these twin pairs shares 100 percent of their genetics. Short sleepers again had a higher BMI (25.7) than normal sleepers (24.7).

There also were 245 twin pairs that differed in their sleep durations. An analysis of these pairs also produced similar results. The shorter-sleeping twins had a higher BMI (25.8) than the twins who had a typical sleep duration (24.9).

How strong was the genetic influence on sleep duration? Further analysis produced a modest heritability estimate of 31 percent for sleep duration. In comparison, the heritability estimate for BMI was 76 percent.

There was little evidence of shared genetics between sleep duration and BMI. Common environmental factors also appeared to have little influence on the link between sleep and BMI.

The results support the idea that voluntary sleep restriction affects BMI. This effect appears to be independent of familial factors.

Do you know your BMI? Use the BMI Calculator on the left side of the blog to find out.

Read more about sleep and obesity and sleep and weight gain.

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Sleep, Weight & Abdominal Fat

A new study examined the relationship between sleep duration and abdominal fat in a group of Hispanic and African-American young adults. The results were published today in the journal Sleep.

The study involved 1,107 adults between 18 and 81 years of age. Data were collected from 332 African-Americans and 775 Hispanics. Sixty-two percent of participants were female.

Body mass index (BMI) and abdominal fat were measured at a five-year interval. Belly fat was measured using abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans.

Results show that the mean self-reported nightly sleep duration was 6.7 hours at baseline. Seventeen percent of the sample reported sleeping five hours or less per night.

There was no link between sleep duration and abdominal fat change in people older than 40 years of age. But short and long sleep durations were associated with increases in BMI and belly fat in people younger than 40 years of age. The association was strongest in people who reported sleeping five hours or less per night.

They had an average BMI increase over five years that was 1.8 kg/m2 higher than people who slept six to seven hours each night. They also gained more abdominal fat.

“Appropriate amounts of sleep are important for maintenance of healthy weight,” lead author Dr. Kristen Hairston told the AASM. “In a group of African-American and Hispanic participants, those who slept less than this had greater increases in belly fat over a five-year period.”

The CDC reports that blacks are 51 percent more likely to be obese than whites. Hispanics are 21 percent more likely to be obese than whites.

The authors proposed that short sleep may promote abdominal fat gain by increasing hunger and caloric intake. It also may increase fatigue and reduce energy expenditure. Both increased caloric intake and decreased vigorous activity were observed in the short sleep group.

The authors also suggested that doctors should educate young adults about the important role of sleep in a healthy lifestyle. This is most important when young adults transition to life stages that often involve sleep deprivation. These include entering college, getting married and having children.

Last year a study found that blacks had a 78 percent increased risk of obesity related to short sleep. The risk of obesity related to short sleep in whites was increased by 43 percent.

Read more about sleep and weight gain and sleep and race.

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Insomnia, Sleep Duration & Risk of Death

A new study examined the relationship between insomnia, sleep duration and the risk of death. The results were published this month in the journal Sleep.

The study involved 3,430 ethnic Chinese adults in Taiwan. They answered questions about lifestyle and sleep in 1990 – 1991.

They reported their habitual sleep duration. They also answered the question, “How frequent is your insomnia complaint?” The four response options ranged from “no insomnia” to “insomnia nearly every day.”

The median follow-up period was 15.9 years. Deaths were identified from official death certificates. Home visits also confirmed the deaths.

Results show that 901 participants died, and 420 developed heart disease. The relative risk of death for people who reported sleeping five hours or less was 15 percent higher than in those who slept seven hours. The risk of death was 34 percent higher in people who reported sleeping nine hours or more per night.

“Our data indicate that an optimal sleep duration (7-8 h) predicted fewer deaths,” the authors wrote.

People who reported having “insomnia nearly every day” had a risk of death that was 70 percent higher than those who had “no insomnia.” They also were 78 percent more likely to have had a heart disease event during the follow-up period.

Combining sleep duration with insomnia also revealed elevated risks for “long sleepers.” The risk of death was 2.5 times higher in people with frequent insomnia who reported sleeping nine hours or more. They also were twice as likely to have had a heart disease event.

“This finding may reflect ‘nonrefreshing sleep’ for reasons other than insomnia, such as sleep apnea” wrote the authors.

A study presented at SLEEP 2009 linked mortality risk to insomnia with short sleep duration. That research team also has found that insomnia with short sleep time is a significant risk factor for hypertension and diabetes.

Read more about insomnia.

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Sleep, Weight Gain & Obesity

A large Japanese study examined the relationship between sleep duration, weight gain and obesity. The results were published this month in the journal Sleep.

The study involved 35,247 employees of an electric power company in Japan. They were evaluated at an annual health checkup in 2006 and 2007. Usual sleep duration was self-reported.

Typically obesity in adults is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. But in this study a BMI of 25 or higher was considered to be obese. This criterion has been proposed for Asia-Pacific populations.

Results show that about 36 percent of men and 12.5 percent of women were obese. About six percent of the non-obese men were obese at the one-year follow-up.

Short sleep duration was associated with both weight gain and the development of obesity in men. The men who reported sleeping less than five hours per night were 91 percent more likely to develop obesity than men who slept seven to less than eight hours. Men who slept five to less than six hours per night were 50 percent more likely to become obese.

“I believe the data are currently compelling enough to recommend good diet, adequate exercise, AND adequate sleep in people trying to lose weight,” wrote Dr. Najib Ayas in a commentary on the study.

Sleep and weight are interconnected in a variety of ways. A recent study suggested that short sleep may lead to weight gain by reducing exercise. And eating when you should be sleeping may lead to weight gain.

Adequate sleep may be associated with more healthful food choices. But short sleep may cause you to crave more high-calorie, high-carb foods. And it may affect the levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.

Read more about sleep and weight gain and sleep and obesity.

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Sleep & Work: The “Worst-Sleeping” Jobs

No one wants to have a bad-paying job. But what about a “bad-sleeping” job? Are employees in some industries more likely to be sleep deprived?

A new study examined the data. The results were published this month in the journal Sleep.

The study involved 66,099 employed workers in the U.S. They answered questions for the National Health Interview Survey between 2004 and 2007.

Participants were asked, “On average, how many hours of sleep do you get in a 24-hour period?” Short sleep duration was defined as six hours of sleep or less in a 24-hour period.

Results show that an estimated 28.4 percent of U.S. workers had a short sleep duration in 2007. This was lower than the rates of short sleep from 2004 to 2006. But comparisons with older data suggest that the average sleep duration has declined among workers over the last two decades.

The rate of short sleep was about 37 percent in people who worked more than one job or more than 40 hours per week. The following were the five “worst-sleeping” industries. They had the highest estimated rates of short sleep duration:

• Management of companies and enterprises (40.5%)
• Transportation and warehousing (37.1%)
• Manufacturing (34.8%)
• Public administration (33.5%)
• Information (31.4%)

These estimates represent more than 10 million workers who reported getting six or fewer hours of daily sleep. The authors reported that people in these industries are likely to perform shift work. Early-morning start times, night shifts and rotating shifts may be a cause of short sleep duration.

What about “good-sleeping” jobs? These industries had the lowest estimated rates of short sleep duration:

• Agriculture, forestry, fishing & hunting (23.1%)
• Education services (26.7%)
• Other services, except public administration (26.9%)
• Real estate, rental & leasing (27.2%)
• Professional, scientific & technical service (27.4%)

The authors estimated that about 40 million U.S. workers sleep less than six hours per day. Chronic sleep deprivation can increase health risks. It also can impair job performance and raise the risk of workplace injuries.

The study was conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The NIOSH is part of the CDC.

Another recent study found that the odds ratio for short sleep was increased by 19 percent in full-time workers. Another study found that women who work full time sleep less than men.

Read more about sleep and work.

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Bill Clinton: The Importance of Sleep

Former President Bill Clinton again emphasized the importance of sleep at a Clinton Foundation event earlier this week.

Clinton was speaking about being admitted to the hospital to have a clogged artery opened. He placed part of the blame on his lack of sleep after responding to the recent earthquake in Haiti.

“I didn’t sleep much for a month,” he said. “And that probably accelerated what was already going on with this failing vein.”

Research does show that sleep can improve your heart health. Last year a study reported that men who went to bed before midnight had more relaxed arteries. Another study found that longer sleep duration was associated with a lower rate of coronary artery calcification. This is a predictor of coronary heart disease.

This wasn’t the first time that Clinton has discussed the benefits of sleep. In December 2008 he appeared on “The Situation Room” on CNN. Anchor Anjali Rao asked if he had any advice for President-Elect Obama.

“In my long political career, most of the mistakes I made, I made when I was too tired, because I tried too hard and worked too hard,” he told Rao. “You make better decisions when you're not too tired. So that would be my only advice.”

And in September 2007 he appeared on “The Daily Show” to discuss his book Giving. He told Jon Stewart that sleep deprivation is part of the problem in Washington politics today.

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“You have no idea how many Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate are chronically sleep deprived because of this system,” he told Stewart. “I know that this is an unusual theory, but I do believe sleep deprivation has a lot to do with some of the edginess of Washington today.”

Are you sleep deprived? Find out by reading the seven signs you need sleep on SleepEducation.com. Get help for an ongoing sleep problem at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

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One More Hour of Sleep Could Change Your Life

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer reports that getting one more hour of sleep each night could improve your health, and change your life.

The report cites a study of heart attacks in Sweden. It found that heart attacks rose by five percent in the week after the spring shift to daylight saving time. The researchers suggested that the results are related to sleep deprivation caused by the time change.

ABC cites another study from the University of Chicago. It found that longer sleep duration was associated with a lower rate of coronary artery calcification. This is a predictor of coronary heart disease.


"Most of these findings are so recent that the average physician is unaware of the link between chronic sleep deprivation and cardiovascular disease," AASM member Dr. Charles Czeisler told ABC.

So what should you do to get that extra hour of nightly sleep? Czeisler advised that you allow yourself more time to wind down at night. You also may need to change habits that are having a negative effect on your sleep.

“I think the key is that people need to learn how to sleep,” AASM member Dr. Lisa Johnston told ABC. She is affiliated with the AASM-accredited Northside Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Atlanta.

Get tips for better sleep on SleepEducation.com. Contact an AASM-accredited sleep center near you for help with an ongoing sleep problem.

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Let’s Sleep: Preventing Obesity in Children

Yesterday first lady Michelle Obama introduced the new “Let’s Move” campaign. She is taking on the issue of childhood obesity.

The campaign is backed by a presidential memorandum signed by President Obama. It establishes a task force on childhood obesity.



One key component of the Let’s Move campaign is to help parents make healthy choices. How can parents help their children maintain a healthy weight?

A new study suggests that one way it to make sure that children get enough sleep. This is one of three household routines that may help prevent obesity in children.

The study involved 8,550 children who were born in the U.S. in 2001. They were a part of the birth cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Data were collected in 2005 when the children were 4 years old.

Obesity was determined by their height and weight measurements. The study also examined their exposure to three household routines:

• Eating the evening meal as a family more than five nights per week
• Sleeping for at least 10.5 hours per night on weekdays
• Watching no more than two hours of TV or videos per day on weekdays

Results show that 18 percent of children were obese. About 58 percent of parents reported that their child slept at least 10.5 hours per night.

The rate of obesity was 36 percent to 37 percent lower in children exposed to any two or all three of the routines. Exposure to only one routine reduced the odds of obesity by 16 percent.

“The routines were protective even among groups that typically have a high risk for obesity,” lead author Sarah Anderson said in a news release. “This is important because it suggests that there’s a potential for these routines to be useful targets for obesity prevention in all children.”

So which of the three routines was most important? Anderson said that each of the three routines appeared to be helpful.

“What this suggests is that you can’t point to any one of these routines,” she said. “Each one appears to be associated with a lower risk of obesity, and having more of these routines appears to lower the risk further.”

In October the Sleep Education Blog reported on sleep duration and obesity in children. A recent study found that children who slept less than eight hours on weekdays were more than two times more likely to be overweight or obese.

Read more about sleep and obesity and sleep and children.

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You May Need Less Sleep as You Get Older

A new study suggests that healthy older adults without sleep disorders may have a reduced "sleep need." The results were published in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

The U.K. study involved 110 healthy adults. They had no sleep disorders or sleep complaints. Their sleep was evaluated during an overnight sleep study.

Results show that total sleep time decreased with age. Older adults between 66 and 83 years of age slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults and about 43 minutes less than young adults.

The study also found that the sleep of older adults was more fragmented and less intense. Awakenings during the night increased. And time spent in deep, slow-wave sleep decreased.

But it was younger adults who were sleepiest during the day. Older adults took longer to fall asleep during a daytime nap study.

"Our findings reaffirm the theory that it is not normal for older people to be sleepy during the daytime," lead author Derk-Jan Dijk, PhD, told the AASM. "If you are sleepy during the day you either don't get enough sleep or you may suffer from a sleep disorder."

In a 2008 study Dijk reported on the age-related reduction in the “maximal capacity for sleep.” Adults were allowed extended periods of sleep to determine their sleep need. The total daily sleep time of older adults (7.4 hours) ended up being 1.5 hours less than that of younger adults (8.9 hours).

It is unclear what may cause a change in the sleep need of older adults. The authors suggested that alterations in reproductive hormones or changes in the brain may be involved.

They added that the study did not address sleepiness during the evening hours. At that time of day older adults may be sleepier than young adults.

The authors also wrote that the results may help explain why some healthy older adults struggle with insomnia. They may be unaware of their reduced sleep need.

So insomnia may occur because they spend too much time in bed. “Sleep restriction” may help get their sleep back on track. This is one form of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

But it is important to note that many older adults have insomnia due to a medical condition. And they may have insomnia as a side effect of a medication.

Read more about sleep and older adults.

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Sleep & Performance: The Cost of Sleep Debt

A new study shows that chronic sleep loss has lasting effects on performance even after attempts to “catch up” on sleep.

The study involved nine healthy volunteers. For three weeks they kept to a strict sleep/wake schedule. They remained awake for 33 hours at a time. Then they slept for periods of 10 hours.

Results show that 10 hours of sleep always produced initial performance benefits. But performance quickly fell apart the longer they stayed awake.

“One long night of sleep can restore performance to normal levels for about six hours after waking,” lead author Dr. Daniel Cohen said in a press release. “However, the lingering effect of chronic sleep loss causes performance to deteriorate dramatically when these individuals stay awake for an extended period of time.”

The study found that chronic sleep loss caused reaction times to drop severely. Performance was most affected late at night and early in the morning.

The authors warned that the negative effects of chronic sleep loss are a serious safety hazard.

Get seven signs you need sleep on SleepEducation.com.

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Work & Sleep: Are Adults Sleeping Less in the U.S.?

Have adults in the U.S. been getting less sleep over the past three decades? A new study examined time-use surveys to find out. The results were published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

The study analyzed data from eight time-use surveys. The earliest survey was conducted in 1975. The most recent data came from the 2006 American Time Use Survey.

Surveys were completed by more than 73,000 adults. They were at least 18 years of age. “Short sleep” was defined as less than six hours of sleep, nap or rest in a 24-hour period.

Results show that the overall odds of being a short sleeper have not increased over the past 31 years. The highest proportion of short sleepers was 11.8 percent in the 1998-99 survey. The lowest proportion was 7.5 percent in the 1992-94 survey. The proportion was 9.3 percent in the 2006 survey.

“The assertion that sleep durations have declined drastically in the U.S. population in general over the past 30 years may be inaccurate,” wrote the authors.

But the study did find a significant trend for full-time workers. Their odds ratio for short sleep was increased by 19 percent.

“Longer work times seem to be the most important cofactor for short sleep,” the authors concluded.

Unmarried adults, those with some college education, and African Americans also had higher odds of short sleep. Women, older adults, Asians, Hispanics and married people were less likely to be short sleepers.

The authors noted that the 24-hour time-use surveys split the sleep period. They combined the end of one night of sleep with the beginning of the second night of sleep. Daytime sleep also was added to the total.

And time categorized as “sleep” included activities such as “resting” and “getting up.” Thus the time-use surveys may have overestimated true sleep time.

Dr. Mathias Basner wrote a commentary on the study in the same issue of Sleep. He noted that chronic, partial sleep deprivation remains an important public health issue.

Why do millions of Americans put their health at risk by failing to get enough sleep? One reason may be that short sleepers simply adjust to regular sleep loss.

“Those who do need more sleep simply may have habituated to feeling sleepy,” Basner wrote. “Many of the short sleepers may have ‘forgot­ten’ how well they could feel and perform if they satisfied their individual sleep need.”

In October the Sleep Education Blog reported on new survey data about the sleep of people in the U.S. In May it took a closer look at time-use survey data.

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Teen Depression & Suicide: Sleep, Early Bedtimes Protect Adolescents

A new study shows that teens who go to bed early and get enough sleep may be less likely to suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts. The results were published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

The study involved 15,659 adolescents in grades seven to 12. Data were collected from the teens and their parents.

Teens who reported that they usually sleep for five hours or less per night were 71 percent more likely to suffer from depression. They also were 48 percent more likely to think about committing suicide than teens who reported getting eight hours of nightly sleep. Both depression and suicidal thoughts were less likely in teens who reported that they “usually get enough sleep.”

Teens were more likely to have problems if their parents set a weeknight bedtime of midnight or later. They were 24 percent more likely to suffer from depression than teens who had to go to bed at 10 p.m. or earlier. They also were 20 percent more likely to think about committing suicide.

Teens with a bedtime of 10 p.m. or earlier got the most sleep. They reported sleeping for an average of eight hours and 10 minutes per night. This was 40 minutes more than teens with a bedtime of midnight or later.

“Our results are consistent with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression,” lead author James E. Gangwisch, PhD, told the AASM. “Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression.”

Seven percent of participants had symptoms of depression. Thirteen percent reported that they seriously thought about committing suicide during the past 12 months.

The NIMH notes that girls are twice as likely as boys to have had a major depressive episode by age 15. But males are much more likely than females to commit suicide. In 2006 suicide was the third-leading cause of death for young people between 15 and 24 years old.

Parents reported setting a wide range of bedtimes. Fifty-four percent of parents reported that their teen had to go to bed by 10 p.m. or earlier on weeknights. Twenty-one percent reported setting a bedtime of 11 p.m. Twenty-five percent reported setting a bedtime of midnight or later.

And most teens complied with the bedtime that their parents set. Seventy percent of teens reported going to bed on time. Overall, teens reported going to bed only about five minutes later on average than their bedtime.

The AASM reports that most teens need a little more than nine hours of sleep each night to feel alert and well rested during the day. But a shift in the timing of their body clock causes teens to feel sleepy later at night. This explains why it can be hard for them to fall asleep before 10 p.m.

In August the Sleep Education Blog reported that a teen’s sleep pattern may be a marker of his or her risk for developing depression. Parents can get tips for teen bed times on SleepEducation.com.

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Life, Death & Sleep

This week the CDC reported that in 2007 life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years in the U.S.

Women (80.4 years) had a longer life expectancy than men (75.3 years). There also was a gap between the life expectancy of whites (78.3 years) and blacks (73.7 years).

Hawaii had the lowest age-adjusted death rate of all the states. West Virginia had the highest rate. In general, states in the Southeast had higher death rates than those in other regions of the country.

The three leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer and stroke. This order has not changed since 1980. But it is likely that cancer will overtake heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S. at some point in the near future.

Does sleep have anything to do with life expectancy? Research has found some intriguing connections.

Numerous studies have examined the relationship between sleep duration and mortality. A recent review of the evidence linked short sleep duration with a 10-percent increase in the risk of death. Studies also have linked short sleep to an increased risk of diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

In October the CDC released new survey data about the sleep of people in the U.S. The sleep data seem to correlate with the death-rate trends described above.

Hawaii had one of the highest age-adjusted percentages of people who always got enough sleep. Southern states had higher percentages of problem sleepers. The age-adjusted percentage of people who never got enough sleep was highest in West Virginia.

A recent study found increased mortality in people with insomnia and a short sleep duration. The highest risk of dying was in men with chronic insomnia who slept five to six hours.

And studies have repeatedly found that obstructive sleep apnea is a serious health hazard. The UCLA Stroke Center reports that OSA is found in almost 50 percent of stroke patients.

People with sleep apnea have a higher risk of heart disease. And having severe sleep apnea has been linked with a much higher risk of dying.

Get help for a sleep problem at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

Image by Robin Ducker

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Sleep & Hyperactive Boys

A new study examined the link between sleep duration and hyperactivity in preschool children.

The study involved 2,057 mothers in Quebec. They answered annual questionnaires until their child reached 5 years of age.

Results show that nightly sleep duration and hyperactivity were significantly associated. Highly hyperactive children were five times more likely to have a short sleep duration. Short sleepers were four times more likely to have high hyperactivity.

Boys were more likely than girls to be a hyperactive, short sleeper. Other risk factors included living in a low-income home and having a mother with a low education.

“Hyperactivity problems may interfere with night-time sleep,” senior author Jacques Montplaisir said in a news release. “We found that children who didn't sleep long were generally hyperactive boys who lived under adverse family conditions. On the other hand, short or fragmented sleep leads to sleepiness, which could manifest as hyperactivity in boys.”

He also noted that hyperactivity scores were low in young children who slept for at least 11 hours at night.

In September the Sleep Education Blog reported that living in a “fragile family” can affect how children sleep. Another study linked sleep loss to hyperactivity in children.

Earlier this year the Sleep Education Blog reported that children often respond to sleep loss in a different way than adults. Sleep-deprived adults tend to be sleepy and sluggish during the day.

But sleep-deprived children may be hyperactive. This is one key symptom of ADHD. Children with ADHD also may be inattentive or impulsive.

Learn more about sleep and children.

Image by Nico Cavallotto

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