Tulsa World: Forty winks

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Forty winks
Knitting up state's raveled sleeve of care

By JULIE DELCOUR Associate Editor
Published: 11/8/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2009 3:58 AM

Last week Oklahoma received a wake-up call from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers there declared residents here the fourth-tiredest in the nation.

Only adults living in West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky are more sleep deprived, according to a survey of 404,000 Americans. Nearly 20 percent of West Virginians are seriously fatigued compared with almost 14 percent of Oklahomans.

Ever wondered how those folks in Washington, D.C., sleep at night? Here's the answer — very well, the third-best in the country.

Ditto for Californians — No. 2. The fact that the Golden State has skidded into the fiscal equivalent of the San Andreas Fault isn't keeping its residents up at night. Californians are much more likely than Oklahomans to get the optimal seven hours of sleep nightly.

North Dakotans, who probably have nothing better to do, are No. 1 in getting enough rest, otherwise known there as defensive hibernation. Only 7 percent of them don't sleep like a baby.

Coming in 46th on the sleep list is a bit of a step up. Were it not for our BFF, Mississippi, we'd be dead last on most lists. We're used to statistical skewerings. We can take a punch. This is one time, however, that we should take the bad news lying down. The survey offers some valuable insight into why Oklahomans often rank poorly on health measures.

Adequate sleep is as vital to health, well-being and survival as food, water and oxygen. Sleep deprivation takes a toll on minds and

bodies. A National Institutes of Health study found that rats, which require 13 hours of sleep daily, died within three weeks after being constantly deprived of sleep.

Oklahoma ranks first in the nation in rates of mental illness. Residents also suffer from high rates of obesity, substance abuse and serious health conditions, and many seldom exercise — all risk factors that can be linked, at least in part, to lack of sleep. For years we've been told to improve our diets and get more exercise.

Study after study indicates that seven or more hours of sleep each night can result in a greater quality of life, better work performance, and improvement in interpersonal relationships and mental health.

By contrast, researchers have long known that lack of sleep is associated with many chronic diseases and conditions including cardiovascular disease, cigarette smoking, depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and stroke.

Aside from Oklahoma, the high prevalence of insufficient sleep is primarily concentrated in the southeastern part of the nation — why is not clear. Unfortunately, researchers left the cause of the geographic variations for another day, another study. They hinted, however, that occupational factors, lifestyle choices and common chronic diseases might all play a role.

What the study's leader, Dr. L.R. McKnight-Eily, did have to say is that "chronic sleep deprivation is under-recognized as a public health problem, despite being associated with numerous physical and mental health problems, injury, loss of productivity, and mortality."

Indeed it is under-recognzied. And, the problem is getting worse with sleep-deprivation reaching epidemic proportions. About one in three American adults sleeps fewer than seven hours per night. But this enormous issue as a health risk doesn't receive nearly as much attention as, say, substance abuse and obesity.

Why not?

Eleven percent of those surveyed by the CDC said they had not had a single day of adequate sleep during the previous 30 days. All told, only 31 percent of respondents claimed that they had managed to get enough sleep every day in the previous month. More women than men and more African Americans than whites or Hispanics suffered sleep deprivation.

Up to 70 million U.S. adults experience chronic sleep disorders, debilitating conditions that are difficult to correct. But they try. In 2006, consumers spent $2.6 billion on prescription sleep-aid medications. Last year physicians wrote more than 48 million sleep-aid prescriptions.

Health leaders long have warned Oklahomans to

wake up

to our serious health risks and problems. Perhaps we should be doing just the opposite — knitting up the raveled sleeve of care with more shut-eye.

J, ulie DelCour, 581-8379
julie.delcour@tulsaworld.com By JULIE DELCOUR Associate Editor

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If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment psychedelikrelik, Tulsa (11/8/2009 2:55:25 PM) It's the meth.
	Report Comment 2ndjoyce, BA (11/8/2009 3:02:22 PM) It's because we stay up late reading books. hehe
	Report Comment Another TPS parent, (11/8/2009 6:50:39 PM) I know I'm getting a lot more sleep since the police helicopter isn't flying above my home in circles for hours on end! I know I should feel more safe with them up there, but quite frankly, if they were chasing someone it kept me up worrying about my safety. I guess that is out of earshot...out of mind!

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