Study finds state that rarely sleeps
HEALTHExperts blame obesity, poverty for West Virginia’s high ranking

By The Associated Press Comments 0
Published: November 15, 2009

ATLANTA — Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness.

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• Tennessee, Kentucky and Oklahoma were notably above average in their reported lack of sleep.

• North Dakota had fewer problems sleeping, with only 1 in 13 reporting that degree of sleeplessness.

West Virginians’ lack of sleep was about double the national rate, perhaps a side effect of health problems such as obesity, experts said.

Nearly 1 in 5 West Virginians said they did not get a good night’s sleep in the previous month. The national average was about 1 in 10, according to a federal health survey conducted last year and released Thursday.

Health officials can’t explain the differences.

"We didn’t ask ‘Why didn’t you get enough rest or sleep?’” said Lela McKnight-Eily, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who led the study.

But experts noted several possible explanations: West Virginia ranks at or near the bottom of the nation in several health measures, including obesity, smoking, heart disease and the proportion of adults with disabilities. Studies have often found sleep problems in people with problems like obesity.

"You would expect to see poorer sleep within a chronically diseased population,” noted Darrel Drobnich of the National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy and research organization.

Some experts believe sleepless people are more likely to eat fatty foods.

"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 too, Chervin added. He suggested those may be contributing factors in West Virginia, an economically down state with thousands working in coal mining.

Thursday’s report came from an annual telephone survey of more than 400,000 Americans, including at least 3,900 in each state. The surveyers did not call cell phones.

The results mirrored studies that found women are more likely to have sleeping problems, and blacks are more likely than whites or Hispanics to get less sleep.

The survey did not ask people how many hours of sleep they got. Sleep experts recommend seven to nine hours of sleep.

Hawaii racked up the most sleep, with nearly 36 percent saying they were rested every day. The U.S. average for a good night’s sleep was 31 percent.