Published: November 03, 2009 05:46 pm      

Unable to sleep — 11/04/09

Study finds Kentuckians near top in not getting enough rest

Did you sleep well last night? Apparently, many Kentuckians would answer that question with a resounding, “No!” according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness.

While residents of neighboring West Virginia lead that nation in having problems sleeping based on the study conducted by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, residents of Tennessee, Kentucky and Oklahoma were not far behind Mountain State residents in complaining about not sleeping well.

Nearly 1 in 5 West Virginians told researchers they didn’t get a single — not one! — good night’s sleep in the previous month, which is double the national average. In contrast, residents of North Dakota slept better than the rest of the nation with only 1 in 13 reporting any degree of sleeplessness in the previous month.

If residents of Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee have more trouble sleeping than those in other states, then that begs a question: Why? But researchers did not ask those surveyed why they were not sleeping well, said Lela McKnight-Eily, a CDC epidemiologist who led the study.

That has led experts to speculate on the cause of the sleep problems. West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee rank near the bottom of the nation in a variety of health measures, including obesity, smoking, heart disease and the proportion of adults with disabilities. Studies have increasingly found sleeping problems in people with certain health problems, including obesity.

Some experts believe sleep-deprived people are more inclined to eat more fatty foods during the day. And, believe it or not, what we eat can affect how well we sleep — and that goes beyond just consuming too much caffeine in coffee and soft drinks.

“There’s growing evidence sleep deprivation promotes obesity,” said Dr. Ronald Chervin, a University of Michigan sleep disorders expert.

Financial stress and odd-hour work shifts can play roles in sleeplessness, too, Chervin added. That can be a problem in both West Virginia and Kentucky, both economically depressed states with thousands of people working in coal mining.

The report is based on results of an annual telephone survey of more than 400,000 Americans, including at least 3,900 in each state. The survey did not include people who only use cell phones, CDC officials said, which of course is a growing percentage of the population.

This region’s drug problems also can be a factor in its sleeping woes. While effective law enforcement seems to have reduced the abuse of methamphetamines, those who use meth can reportedly go for days without sleeping. Some of the prescription drugs on which too many area resident have become addicted also can lead to a lack of sleep.

For whatever reason, a lack of sleep can lead to increased mistakes and poor production at work, serious accidents when driving and a wide range of other problems.

Poor Richard — a.k.a. Benjamin Franklin —was not far off when he wrote: “Early to bed, early to wise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, experts say. Those who don’t — and there apparently are many such people in this state — are simply not performing at their best when they are awake.