The IAA One Minute Blog

Three in 10 adults in the United States have trouble sleeping, nearly as many experience daytime sleepiness and many play catch-up on their days off to erase sleep deficits, a new study suggests.

New Study on Sleep Debt

Scientists say the results of the new study prove that sleep disturbances remain a challenge for healthy sleep in the U.S. In addition to frequent sleep disturbances, a high percentage of U.S. adults experience long-term sleep deprivation and chronic “social jet lag,” the study found.

The study used a nationally representative survey of 9,000 U.S. adults who averaged 48 years old.  Researchers also created a profile of sleep-wake patterns and the differences between workdays and free days among the adults from 2017 to March 2020.

Overall, 30.5 percent of adults experience at least one hour of sleep debt, defined as the difference between how long people sleep on their days off and mean weekly sleep duration.

Researchers found 46.5 percent of U.S. adults experience one hour or more of “social jet lag” calculated as the midpoint between sleep and wake times on workdays vs. free days. In other words, the sleep timing preferred by a person’s inner biological clock and the one dictated to by society. Untreated social jet lag can have serious consequences, including insomnia, early waking or extreme sleepiness, daytime fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. 

The data was collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The new study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Sleep and Your Health

Adults who sleep less than seven hours each night are more likely to say they have had health problems, including:

• Asthma
• Depression
• Heart attack

Adults over 18 need at least seven hours of solid sleep at night to be healthy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What IAA has to Say

Insurance Administrator of America wants you to get a good night’s sleep. Healthy sleep can help with overall health. Remember, with IAA one call does it all.

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