Sleepy teens engage in more risky activities

Teens who are sleep deprived are at risk for more than just falling asleep in class. A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that sleep-deprived teens are more likely to smoke, drink and fight.

A survey was conducted of more that 12,000 teens. About 68 percent said that on an average school night, they get less than eight hours of sleep. Those students were more likely to be involved in risky health behaviors than students who got more than eight hours of sleep. The behaviors included smoking cigarettes and marijuana, drinking alcohol and getting into a physical fight.

Sleep-deprived students were also more sexually active and less likely to exercise. They also were more likely to feel sad or hopeless and think about committing suicide.

The study was published online by the Preventive Medicine journal.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that most teens need a little more than nine hours of sleep each night. Is your teen getting enough sleep? Find out by reviewing the signs your teen needs sleep on the Your Sleep website. Read more posts about teens and sleep.

Photo By: Gandalf

New parents and the joys of being Up All Night

Seemingly endless crying. Late nights. Being up when your alarm goes off. Sleep deprivation. Parents of new born babies know these scenarios very well.

The plight of new parents has become something of a source for comedy. In a new show on NBC, Up All Night, a couple finds out what it means to be the parents of a newborn. They discover what it feels like to be sleep deprived because their baby needs constant attention.

The show follows the process of how a couple, accustomed to staying out late and partying hard, adjusts to having an infant in the house. The new parents are played by Will Arnett and Christina Applegate. They bring the situations parents face to the screen with comedy and realism.

In one scene of the pilot, the couple is seen recovering from a night of attempting to “reclaim” their party lifestyle. However, as they are still trying to shake off the grogginess, the baby begins to cry. After that hard lesson, the parents realize that they will have to sacrifice some of their past habits.

They would have benefited from the knowledge that infants that are 3-11 months need 14-15 hours of sleep. The number of hours needed decreases as they grow older.

As they grow older, young children may develop sleep-onset association which usually results in sleep deprivation among parents. When they wake up, children may cry. The parents naturally feel that they should help their child fall back asleep. They do this by feeding, rocking, holding or lying down with their child. As result many children aren't able to fall asleep on their own. They begin to connect sleeping with an activity or a person.

Here are some tips to help your child sleep better: establish a relaxing setting at bedtime, follow a consistent bedtime routine and don’t allow your child to have food or drinks that have caffeine. As your child the gets the correct amount of sleep, they will most likely be more cheerful during the day.

Picture By: iskir

Napping Neurons Impair Performance in the Sleep-Deprived

A new study explains why sleep deprivation makes us irritable and impairs our ability to think clearly and make decisions. A team of sleep researchers in Wisconsin and Italy have discovered that parts of your brain may be nodding off while you remain awake. The study was conducted on lab rats, but the findings likely apply to humans. An EEG was used to measure the brain waves of rats as they were kept awake four hours past their usual bedtimes.

Readings show that local populations of neurons in the brain’s cortex went silent in a seemingly random pattern as the rats remained awake. The brain patterns in these select neurons resembled slow wave or non-REM sleep. The rats’ overall EEG readings as well as their behavioral appeared no different than well-rested rats.

Researchers did notice that the rats performed progressively worse at a task that involved locating a sugar pellet. If neurons in the motor cortex switched off as the rats reached for the pellet, they were about 37 percent more likely to fail the task.

The authors of the study caution that the rats were in a state that was different than microsleeps, or very brief episodes of sleep in a sleep-deprived but otherwise awake person.

CDC: More than 1 in 3 Americans are Sleep-Deprived

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shed light on some unsettling trends involving our sleep. More than 35 percent of Americans get less than seven hours of sleep per night – and 1 in 20 has fallen asleep at the wheel in the past month.

Drowsy driving is one of the most overlooked dangers on our roadways. It’s estimated that as many as 1,550 deaths and 40,000 personal-injury accidents are caused by drowsy drivers.

The CDC surveyed about 74,000 adults in 12 states about various topics related to sleep. The survey was a new module included in the CDC’s 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Results show nearly half of the people surveyed snore and 38 percent unintentionally nodded off during the day at least once in the past month.

The AASM reports that adults need a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night. Even an hour less of sleep per night can lead to long-term health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and diabetes. It also can sap your energy, ruin your productivity and put you in a foul mood.

There’s a reason why Americans are constantly among the most sleep deprived in the world. Aside from the many worries that keep us awake at night, our society seems to reward those who stay up working or socializing rather than sleeping. Sleep deprivation isn’t a badge of honor; it’s a threat to your health.

ADHD and Late Bedtimes Don't Mix for Schoolchildren

Late bedtimes and overall poor sleeping habits can easily transform an A into an F for school-aged children. Sleep is perhaps the most important factor in academic success and healthy cognitive development. Lack of sleep can be disastrous for children, especially if they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A study in the March issue of the journal SLEEP reports the consequences from poor sleep can magnify the academic disadvantage facing children with ADHD. After staying up late for nearly an extra hour, children with ADHD lost the ability to remain vigilant and attentive.

A group of 11 children with ADHD and 32 kids without the childhood disorder were asked to eliminate nearly an hour of sleep for six consecutive nights, following a baseline period. Researchers monitored the children’s sleep patterns using wrist actigraphy.

Before and after the period of sleep-deprivation, each child took a common neurobehavioral test used in the evaluation of ADHD called a Continuous Performance Test. The children were presented single letters on a computer screen at three different rates and had to press a button in response.

Results show that children with ADHD who lost an average of 55 minutes of sleep per night had more errors and a slower reaction time in the test compared to children without the disorder.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that ADHD affects about 3-5% of school-aged children, and is more common in boys than girls. Children with ADHD may be impatient, have trouble focusing and quickly become bored. They may daydream, have trouble sitting still or talk nonstop. For a child to be clinically diagnosed with ADHD, these symptoms must be present for at least six months. Sometimes mood disorders such as depression or other learning disabilities are mistaken for ADHD.

Lack of sleep can also lead to symptoms similar to ADHD in children. They respond to sleep loss differently than adults. Sleep-deprived adults may feel lethargic and have trouble staying awake, while sleep-deprived children can be hyperactive.

The AASM recommends school-aged children get 9-10 hours of sleep per night. Very young children may need as much as 14 hours of sleep for healthy cognitive development.

Short Sleep Adds to Colon Cancer Risk

A new study shows sleeping less than six hours per night may increase your risk to develop a key sign of early colon cancer by about 50 percent. Patients who reported short sleep durations are far more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal adenomas, a precursor to cancer tumors.

The study involved 1,240 patients scheduled for colonoscopies. The screening results found about 350 of the patients had colorectal adenomas.

Prior to the screening, each patient answered questions about sleep habits from the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index. Patients reported their overall sleep quality during the past month, frequency of insomnia and other details related to sleep.

Study results show colorectal adenomas appeared more frequently among patients who said they slept fewer than six hours each night. The findings were adjusted for other risk factors for colon cancer, such as family history, smoking and obesity.

It’s still not known why short sleep duration may increase the risk for colon cancer. The lead author of the study speculates it may be because of the decrease in melatonin production or the increase in insulin resistance from sleep deprivation.

Colon cancer isn’t the only serious health risk related to sleeplessness. Short sleepers have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Last year a study found men with chronic insomnia have four times the risk of death compared to men who slept more than six hours per night.

The latest findings clearly demonstrate the importance of sleep to your overall health. Do your body a favor and make sleep a health priority, along with diet and exercise.

Sleep Deprivation May Help in Emotional Trauma Treatment

Normally the Sleep Education Blog reports on the numerous physical and mental health problems caused by sleep deprivation. In this one case, sleep deprivation may actually have a benefit. If you don’t sleep after a traumatic event, you may avoid developing PTSD or other anxiety disorders, a recent study reports.

Plenty of studies have shown that sleep is central to the development of memories. This approach to PTSD works the opposite, researchers theorize: Avoid sleeping and avoid the memory-forming mechanism.

So far, sleep restriction has only been used to treat trauma in artificial, academic environments. The approach has not been put to practice with patients at risk for PTSD, such as accident victims or deployed troops.

The double-blind study involved video clips of safe driving with shocking footage of sudden car accidents mixed in. Half of the participants who watched the videos stayed up all night afterwards. The others received a normal night’s sleep.

The group assigned to sleep deprivation had few fear-associated memories of the accident footage, compared to subjects who received a full night’s sleep.

The authors of the study insist sleep deprivation could be a possible therapy for post-traumatic stress or anxiety. Further research is needed before the therapy can be put into practice for real-life traumatic events.

Beauty Sleep More Than a Myth

There’s some truth to a tired cliché. Catching up on your beauty sleep really can make you more attractive. Sleep deprived people tend to appear tired and less healthy, therefore less attractive, Swedish researchers discovered.

In the study, a group of participants randomly rated photos of 23 men and women based on their attractiveness. Each person was photographed twice: once after a normal night’s sleep and once after sleep deprivation.

The results were clear – the sleep-deprived looked a lot less attractive in the eyes of the raters. Ratings of perceived health, attractiveness and tiredness were lower for photos taken after a sleep-deprived night.

So next time you want to impress a date, give yourself an extra hour in bed the night before. Not only will you be physically more attractive, but you’ll be in a better mood – so might leave a lasting impression.

Plus your body will thank you, after all, people who prioritize sleep are happier and have fewer health issues overall.

Image courtesy British Medical Journal

Sleep Loss Linked to Heart Disease and Stroke Risk

Researchers have discovered new clues to why chronic insomnia can cut short men’s lives. People who sleep poorly or are chronically sleep deprived have elevated inflammation caused by increased hormone production, a recent study reports. Inflamation is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

The study, presented at the American Heart Associate Scientific Sessions, involved 525 middle-aged people. Each subject reported the number of hours they slept per night before they were was screened for chronic sleep deprivation using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index survey.

After a screening for inflammatory hormones, researchers compared the level of inflammation and sleep quality. Participants who slept fewer than six hours per night and scored poorly on the sleep quality index had higher levels of inflammation. The results were adjusted for external risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

The results show there is a relationship between sleep deprivation and heart disease, but it’s not clear if it’s a causal relationship.

Previous studies show people who sleep at least seven hours per night live longer than their peers. People with abnormally short or long sleep durations have a high risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and stress.

Sleepy Gene Worsens Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Some people are naturally wired to be tired. About 25 percent of people carry a gene variant that makes them sleepier than their peers, researchers have discovered.

The breakthrough explains why you might feel exhausted for staying up a half hour past your normal bedtime while your coworker in the next cubical has no problem regularly burning the candle at both ends.

People with a gene variant called DQB1*0602 are generally more fatigued whether they are rested or not because their sleep is more fragmented, researchers discovered. They spend less time in deep sleep compared to their peers. When they are fully rested, people with the gene variant have less desire to sleep.

The gene variant is closely related to narcolepsy, yet experts say anywhere from 12 to 38 percent of carriers are healthy sleepers who don’t develop the sleep disorder. Some people without the gene variant also develop narcolepsy, although it’s not as common.

The study compared 92 healthy adults without the gene variant to 37 healthy adults with DQB1*0602. Each participant spent a week at a sleep laboratory. For the first two nights they were allowed full rest, with a ten hour scheduled sleep period.
Sleep restriction followed for five nights. Each subject was allowed only four hours in bed and spent the rest of the time reading, playing games or watching movies.

Throughout the study, researchers measured the participants’ sleep quality and tested their memory, attention and ability to stay awake. Each person also reported how sleepy they felt.

When they were allowed full rest, people with the gene variant spent 34 minutes in stage three sleep compared to 43 minutes for people without the trait. After five nights of sleep deprivation people with the variant spent 29 minutes in deep sleep compared to 35 minutes for the control group.

While people with the variant were sleepier and more fatigued, they performed similarly in memory attention and daytime sleep resistance tests.

The findings may lead to changes in the way we look at sleep deprivation. AASM Member and medical director of Minnesota Sleep Disorder Center Dr. Mark Mahowald suggests doing away with sweeping statements about sleep deprivation.

“The implication is that everyone is sleep-deprived and sleep-deprivation does the same thing to everyone, but the tolerance and range of sleep is so different for different people,” Dr. Mahowald told ABC News.

"Our society has equated sleepiness with defects of character, like laziness and depression, but really, some people are generally sleepier during the day. They're more prone to naps, and to sleeping in. We have to accept the fact that sleep duration is genetically determined and not a sign of defect."

Real or Hoax? Photographer Spends 40 Days Without Sleep

Tyler Shields did something this October that most medical experts would consider highly dangerous, irresponsible and most likely impossible. The 28-year-old Los Angeles photographer claims he went 40 days without a wink of sleep. Friends tasked with monitoring Shields insist he was awake the entire time, and never felt the urge to close his eyes and drift away.

If you have your doubts, you’re not alone.

“In all likelihood he has slept, even if he does not think he has,” AASM member Dr. Michael Breus told AOL News. “Many people have what we call ‘microsleeps’ where our brain will go into sleep for even a few seconds.”

Shields claims he’s different than most people. He keeps a busy 24-hour work and social schedule and only needs to sleep a couple nights per week.

It all sounds either an early case of the devastating and impossibly-rare fatal familial insomnia or, in all likelihood, a sham for publicity. After all, Shields makes a living by taking suggestive photos of Lindsay Lohan and other young actresses.

Hoax or not, going long periods without sleep is still extremely unhealthy, which is why the Guinness Book of World Records refuses to recognize records for sleep-deprivation. Extreme sleep deprivation can lead to psychiatric problems such as irritability, depression and even hallucinations. Physical problems can range from elevated blood pressure, to obesity, stroke and heart failure.

Shields says most of the first month was no problem. The symptoms began after day 25 when he began having a bad fever, which he initially fought by eating “like 50 popsicles.“ When the fever came back he sat in a bathtub filled with ice. Then he lost feeling in his legs and then his entire right side. Then the numbness went away and he had to pee every 10 minutes.

He went the entire time without caffeine or stimulants. And he kept productive, taking dozens of photos inspired by sleeplessness.

The photographer says it took more than eight hours to fall asleep after the 40th day was complete. After only six hours of sleep he woke up starving and ate a half loaf of bread sitting on the kitchen floor.

“My head felt like it was going to explode almost as if a tank was driving through a wall and the only think stopping it was my head,” Shields blogged. “I still feel a bit like a balloon floating in space my feet dont feel like they are on the ground”

If this sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is. The entire story must be a hoax. It has to be.

Photo by Tyler Shields

Sleep Deprivation Impairs Troops’ Moral Decision-making Ability

Military officers are asked to make split-second decisions on the battlefield with life or death consequences. By nature, military operations often involve extended periods with little sleep. A team of researchers in Norway wanted to know whether militaries are risking an international incident as well as the lives of troops and civilians and by allowing key decision-makers to operate under extreme sleep deprivation

The study published in the August issue of SLEEP found soldiers are more likely to go “by the book” when making difficult moral decisions on little sleep.

A sample of 71 first-year officer cadets in the Norwegian military participated in the study. Each had at least one year of military service before the study began.

The cadets were presented with five moral dilemmas. The cadets took the test twice: after five sleep-deprived nights and when they were well rested.

Test results show sleep deprivation impaired the more emotionally intelligent cadets’ ability to make mature moral judgments. The officers tended to fall back on their training and behave in a more rule-oriented manner.

Sleep deprivation didn’t harm everyone’s decision-making abilities. Several sleepless nights had little effect on officers with less mature moral reasoning ability.

Researchers were relieved to find that the sleep-deprived officers did not regress into self-centeredness, but feared the possibility unethical decisions based on military “group think.”

Image Courtesy of the U.S. Army

When Sleeping in on Weekends Isn't Enough

Make sleep a priority during the work week. Catching up on your sleep during the weekend may not be enough to stave off the effects of sleep loss.

A study published in the August issue of SLEEP found the impairments caused by sleep-deprivation such as lapses in attention and delayed reaction time remained even after sleeping in for a day. Full recovery after sleep restriction may take multiple nights of extended sleep.

The laboratory-based study involved 159 healthy adults who were about 30 years old. More than half of the participants were African American. All but 17 of the subjects had to sleep from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for five consecutive nights. On the sixth night they were randomly assigned to one of six lengths of recovery sleep.

The participants took a 30-minute long computerized neurobehavioral assessment every two hours throughout the duration of the study. The assessment included a Psychomotor Vigilance Test and the Karonlinska Sleepiness Scale. A modified Maintenance of Wakefulness Test was also given at the start of the study, after the fifth night and during the recovery day.

Researchers noticed a reduction in impairment after the night of recovery sleep. The improvements increased for lengthier sleep times, the effects of sleep loss were never fully eliminated. Lapses of attention, subjective sleepiness, reaction times and fatigue scores were above baseline for all 27 participants assigned to 10 hours of recovery sleep.

Solving long-term sleep debt takes more than one night of recovery sleep. Because most people are unable to stay asleep for much longer than 10 hours it’s impossible to close the gap in a single night.



Another interesting finding involved the participants who were assigned to extreme sleep restriction on the sixth night instead of recovery sleep. Performance and alertness significantly deteriorated after a final night with little to no sleep.
The study shows that burning the candle at both ends during the workweek will hurt your ability to perform on the job and the problems may not end when the weekend rolls around.

Bowler Scores Another Sleep-Deprived Guinness World Record

One famous Guiness World Record holder feared for his life and sanity while trapped in a block of ice. It wasn’t the stunt itself that spooked self-professed street magician David Blaine, it was the sleep deprivation. He described five days without so much as a nap as the most horrific thing humans can experience, in a recent interview for the book “Wide Awake: A Memoire of Insomnia.”

The Guiness World Records banned the sleep-deprivation category of stunts because of the potential health hazard, yet many officially sanctioned feats still require staying awake for days.

This baffling policy sends mixed messages about sleep deprivation. Staying up for a week straight isn't okay unless the time is spent playing trading card games?

A bowler who recently disregarded his own health to chase a world record shared Blaine’s sentiments about sleep-deprivation. He called the mental anguish from sleeplessness the hardest part the world’s longest tenpin bowling marathon.

ESPN Dallas reports Stephen Shanabrook, 24, rolled for five days straight at a 24 hour bowling alley in Plano, Texas.

Unlike Blaine he allowed himself to take a few extremely brief naps. The longest lasted only two hours. Shanabrook aimed for five games an hour or a game every 12 minutes because the official Guiness rules state the record-holder must bowl within the “spirit of the game.” Any time that was left over could be accumulated and used for whatever he wanted. Naturally he chose bathroom breaks, eating and occasionally napping.

The stunt began last Monday and ended five days and five hours later, easily shattering the current record.

24 hour endurance races pits drivers against sleep deprivation

Few events in all of sports measure up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in terms of pure difficulty. Drivers must battle their own circadian rhythms and maintain at speeds up to 210 miles per hour to finish the prestigious French endurance race held every year in June.

Manufacturers usually dominate the race coverage. Make no mistake the outcome is largely determined long before the race, during the car development phase. A car must have near flawless aerodynamics and incredible durability to compete.

Similar lofty expectations are asked of team members from the pit to the track. Each has to perform at a maximum level with an attention to detail even in the dark of the night.

Rules state that no driver is able to remain at the wheel for more than four consecutive hours. Each racer is allowed to drive a maximum of 14 hours.

Only a couple drivers have ever attempted the near-impossible task of completing the 24 hour race alone. After a well-publicized driver-fatigue related disaster in 1955, Le Mans began requiring multiple drivers per car.

Drivers usually take off about three hours at a time. Rarely do they get more than an hour or so of real rest. They usually say nighttime is the most difficult, due to the natural human circadian lull that occurs around 3 a.m.

The exhaustion tests teams to their limits emotionally. Friction becomes more common and shouting can happen amidst the crew.

The key is the weeks of preparation teams spend to preparing their bodies and minds for the 24 hour grind.

Driver Alexander Wurz told the New York Times he practiced driving until midnight the entire week before the race. Debriefing sessions typically lasted until 2 or 3 a.m.

With enough practice, the drivers and crew are able to minimize mistakes caused by sleep deprivation.

Drivers know every inch of the track, and can identify the less experienced cars that may cause problems.

Relief comes at the finish line, at least for the successful teams. “You can sleep afterwards if the race has been good,” said Wurz.

Image courtesy Audi USA

Live World Cup coverage causing U.S. viewers to lose sleep

Once every four years the beautiful game interferes with beauty sleep on a worldwide scale. Soccer fans far away from the World Cup host country have no choice but to set their alarm clocks early or stay up late to see their nation’s squad compete on the biggest stage in sports.

This year fans in Europe and Africa have the circadian advantage. The World Cup, broadcasted live from South Africa, will air during afternoons and evenings those surrounding time zones.

The broadcast times for the World Cup aren’t as friendly for fans in Asia or the Americas. Monday’s first match, between the Netherlands and Denmark, started at 4:30 a.m. for viewers in the Pacific time zone. Ouch.

Ten total first-round World Cup games are scheduled for the earliest start time:

South Korea-Greece
Algeria-Slovenia (the Americans' group)
Netherlands-Denmark
New Zealand-Slovakia
Chile-Honduras
Argentina-South Korea
Germany-Serbia
Netherlands-Japan
Paraguay-Slovakia
Portugal-North Korea

There’s a better option than an alarm clock sitting in entertainment centers these days. The Sleep Education blogger prefers to use Tivo or a DVR box to automatically record games. The devices allow viewers to rewind and fast-forward live television, and skip past the excess pre-match presentations and lengthy commercial breaks.

The best option is to sleep through those early World Cup matches, and watch them at your own convenience.

At the very least you can sleep a couple dozen minutes extra and fast-forward past those distractions. In no time you will be caught up with the live broadcast.
Thankfully, the early morning matches will start to disappear as the World Cup progresses. The final rounds all have early afternoon start times for American viewers.

The Sleep Education blog recognizes the excitement the World Cup brings but cautions against cutting back on sleep for soccer-watching. Even losing an hour of sleep a night will yield negative effects, especially over a couple weeks. As sleep debt builds, so do the symptoms.

Sleepeducation.com reports common symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation include:

·Daytime sleepiness

·Irritability/ symptoms of depression

·Lack of motivation

·Shortened attention span

·Impaired judgment

See the entire FIFA World Cup schedule

Tired teenagers prone to depression

High school students who don’t get the recommended nine hours of sleep per night are three times as likely to have depression, according to a research abstract to be shown Wednesday at SLEEP 2010 in San Antonio.

The study found sleep deprivation is widespread among teens in the U.S. 52 percent of seniors at a public high school in New Jersey reported excessive daytime sleepiness.

Students averaged only 6.1 hours of sleep on school nights and 8.2 hours on weekends. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports students need more than nine hours of sleep to stay alert during the day.

More than 250 high school seniors participated in a cross-sectional survey. Excessive daytime sleepiness was defined as a score of 10 or higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Mood was evaluated with a validated depression scale.

A study published earlier this year in the journal SLEEP further supports these findings. The article reported adolescents who went to bed at midnight or later were 24 more likely to have depression compared to teens with parental set bedtimes earlier than 10 p.m.

Some experts advocate pushing forward school start times to give teens more time to sleep. The author of the study suggests public high schools should regularly screen for sleep deprivation and depression.

Auto accident rate higher for excessively sleepy Michigan motorists

An analysis of driver data collected by the Michigan State Police further demonstrates the risks associated with drowsy driving. The study published in the June issue of SLEEP is the first to look at the driving records of randomly selected test subjects.

The findings suggest extreme sleepiness multiplies the likelihood of being in an accident causing serious injury. Overall crash rates were about 12 percent higher for tired drivers.

Researchers at Michigan State University and the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center randomly called residents in metro Detroit, a region with demographics similar to the United States as a whole.

Each subject answered a series of questions about sleep and health habits, including use of medications, alcohol and illegal drugs.

About a third of the residents went in for laboratory tests, including an overnight sleep study and a Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT).

Researchers worked with the Michigan State Police to collect crash data from from a 10 year span of the study subjects’ driving.

The drivers were divided up into three groups according to their MSLT scores. Those who were excessively sleepy had an accident rate of 59.4 percent. Only 47.3 percent of alert subjects were in an accident during that period.

Learn more about drowsy driving on SleepEducation.com.

Study: sleep disturbance symptoms differ by race

New research shows the exact effects of sleep disturbances differ by race.

A study published this month in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine compared symptoms for white, black and Hispanic people.

Each participant filled out a survey about their symptoms, after scientists monitored their sleep.

Black participants who had insomnia symptoms, excessive daytime sleepiness or frequently snored reported poorer physical health compared to their white counterparts. Black people with insomnia also had more physical limitations than Hispanics, and worse mental health than whites.

Hispanics with those same sleep issues had more mental distress than white people.

Researchers found sleep disturbances were common for the overall population; 46 percent had at least mild sleep apnea, 34 percent reported frequent snoring, 30 percent had insomnia and 25 percent reported excessive daytime sleepiness.

Excessive snoring was most common among Hispanics, affecting 41 percent studied. Nearly a third of black people struggled with daytime sleepiness, the most in the study.

Due to limitations of the studies design, researchers could not examine what causes those differences. They speculate lifestyle, diet, sleep architecture and access to health care could be factors.

The 2010 Sleep in America Poll highlights sleep differences for each race. Blacks were most likely to be “short sleepers,” those surveyed averaged 6.2 hours of sleep on weekdays. Whites had the highest average of 6.9 hours.

According to CDC data, unemployed and low-income Americans have more trouble sleeping. High school dropouts are about twice more likely to have sleep disturbances than people with college degrees.

Learn more about sleep and race.

Image Courtesy John Steven Fernandez

Radio DJ KeKe Luv achieves goal, nearly 8 days without sleep

No one will fault Idaho Kiss FM morning host KeKe Luv for sleeping in Saturday morning. It’s been more than a week since his last visit to dreamland.

KeKe Luv, whose real name is Steve Kicklighter topped his own record Friday afternoon by logging about 175 consecutive hours on air.


You won’t find him listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The proper paperwork was never submitted to make his attempt official.

The stunt was part of his annual campaign to raise awareness for child abuse prevention. Last year he ran the equivalent of seven marathons in seven days. In 2008, he went seven days without sleeping.

Read KeKe Luv's blog