Lack of sleep America's top health problem, doctors say

 

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ATLANTA (CNN) -- Sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia: these are just a few of the recognized disorders that keep their afflicted from getting enough sleep. Nearly half of all Americans have difficulty sleeping.

Some people may show great bravado about getting a job done on little sleep. Some even brag about having trouble sleeping, claiming their work proves they didn't need the rest anyway. Yet the truth is that fatigue is dangerous. A growing collection of research indicates that America's sleep problems have reached epidemic proportions, and may be the country's number-one health problem.

The costs of not sleeping

We don't know what sleep is. We do know we need it to survive. Sleep restores us. Those who sleep fewer than six hours a night don't live as long as those who sleep seven hours or more.

Lack of sleep can be expensive: The National Commission on Sleep Disorders estimates that sleep deprivation costs $150 billion a year in higher stress and reduced workplace productivity.

It may also lead to personal and public tragedy. There are indications that the Challenger disaster, the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown and the Exxon Valdez oil spill can all be partly linked to people suffering from a severe lack of sleep.

High-risk careers associated with little sleep

Dr. Serena Koenig, 13 hours into a 36-hour shift at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, admits that her grueling schedule allows no room for error.

"You do not have the luxury of being tired. You have to take care of that patient," she said. "If you make a mistake, that patient could be hurt by it and the fear of making mistakes keeps you clear thinking. I have never made a mistake because I have been tired."

Her hospital pays close attention to problems associated with sleep deprivation among health care workers, but only recent research has shown that sleeplessness is a major problem in many fields of work.

Pete Filbrick has been a truck driver for 30 years. He, too, has never made a mistake. But he knows what can happen.

"I haven't seen the figures on that, but I would think fatigue would play a pretty big role in almost any accident," Filbrick said.

Figures suggest that driver fatigue contributes to 30 to 40 percent of all heavy truck accidents. Many truckers simply can't recognize the point that their bodies are tired enough for them to fall asleep.