I don’t mean to sound like an overly concerned mother, dear reader, but are you getting enough sleep? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding the public that this week is National Sleep Awareness Week.

Roughly one-third of American workers said they had fallen asleep or become very sleepy on the job in the past month, according to a survey released Monday. Overall, about three in 10 respondents (28 percent) reported that sleepiness interferes with their daily activities at least a few days a month, with 5 percent saying it does so every day or almost every day.

The National Sleep Foundation’s 2008 Sleep in America poll of 1,000 people found participants average six hours and 40 minutes of sleep a night on weeknights. They estimated they’d need seven hours and 18 minutes of sleep to function at their best. About three in 10 respondents reported they need at least eight hours of sleep to be at their best during the day, but only 20 percent of respondents reported they sleep this much.

The NSF recommends healthy adults sleep seven to nine hours daily. Younger folks need even more sleep.

The 2005 Sleep in America poll found that women are more likely to experience sleep problems than men. The 2007 poll found that more than half of American women (60 percent) get a good night’s sleep only a few night’s each week or less, while 67 percent said they frequently experienced a sleep problem. Moreover, 43 percent said that daytime sleepiness interferes with their daily activities.

The majority of respondents (87 percent) to the NSF’s latest survey agreed that their work schedule allows them to get enough sleep. However, 12 percent said that their current work schedule does not allow them to get enough sleep.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services says sufficient sleep is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of maintaining health. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the cost to business of sleep deficiency among employees. These costs include the following:

• Decreased productivity;
• Increased errors and accidents;
• Increased absenteeism;
• Increased drug use;
• Increased turnover; and
• Higher group insurance premiums.

Of course, just how big a deal this is depends on one’s job.

Last week, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) acknowledged it should have done more to investigate a tip that security guards routinely took naps while on the job at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant. It wasn’t until a videotape of guards sleeping in a “ready room” at the Peach Bottom plant in south-central Pennsylvania surfaced several months after it got the tip that the NRC announced in September a special investigation.

Interestingly, about one-third of the respondents (34 percent) to the NSF’s latest annual poll reported that their employer allows them to nap during breaks, and 16 percent mentioned that their workplace provides a place for employees to nap. About one-fourth of those who work in public services, safety or health related jobs (24 percent) are provided a place to take naps, while two in 10 gray-collar workers are provided a place to do so (20 percent). (Image via NSF)

While sleepy workers know they are not performing as well as they could during the day, work is what’s keeping them up nights, according to the survey, which found workdays are getting longer and time spent working from home averages close to four-and-a-half hours each week.

“Longer workdays and more access to colleagues and the workplace through the Internet and other technology appear to be causing Americans to get less sleep,” Darrel Drobnich, NSF acting CEO, said in a statement. “Reciprocally, the effects of sleep loss on work performance are costing U.S. employers tens of billions of dollars a year in lost productivity.”

It seems people are also trying to squeeze in more time for themselves and their families, even if it means less sleep. Average wakeup is at 5:35 a.m., followed by about two hours and 15 minutes at home before heading out to work, according to the survey. Average bedtime is 10:53 p.m.

“Nearly 50 million Americans chronically suffer from sleep problems and disorders that affect their careers, their personal relationships and safety on our roads,” Drobnich said. “It’s time for American workers and employers to make sleep a priority.”

Prolonged workdays that often extend late into the night not only cause Americans to fall asleep or feel sleepy at work, but also to drive drowsy and lose interest in sex, according to the NSF survey.

National Sleep Awareness Week runs through March 9.

Earlier: Sleep Deprivation and Workplace Riskzzzzz