HHS HealthBeat (June 12, 2008)

Health and lost sleep

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Not getting enough sleep may be something worth losing sleep over. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people who slept less than six hours a night were more likely to do other things that were bad for their health.

At the National Center for Health Statistics, Charlotte Schoenborn:

``People who got less than six hours of sleep were more likely to be obese, to be physically inactive; they were much more likely to smoke, and somewhat more likely to use alcohol in large quantities.’’ (12 seconds)

Schoenborn says she can’t tell why people who get less sleep are more likely to do these things. But she says it’s good advice for people who are low on sleep to look at their lifestyles, including sleep – because sleep may affect many things about our lives.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: June, 11 2008