When you're busy with work and responsibilities at home, does your sleep suffer? Do you get to bed later than you'd planned, or wake in the early morning already thinking about all you need to tackle during the day? If so, you have a lot of company.
According to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly one-third of workers in the United States aren't getting enough sleep. The CDC examined more than 15,000 responses to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey, analyzing the data for information about the sleep habits of working people. In their analysis, CDC researchers looked at workers' sleep in relation to several demographic factors, including age, gender, race and ethnicity, marital status, education and type of employment.
The study found that overall, 30 percent of workers in the U.S. are sleeping for no more than six hours a day. That's at best an hour short of the seven to eight hours of daily sleep that most of us need. The rates of low sleep among different industries vary significantly, ranging from a low of 24.1 percent for an industry category titled "other services, except public administration" to a high of 41.6 percent for workers in the mining industry. More than a third of manufacturing workers -- 34 percent -- reported sleeping no more than six hours on a daily basis.
The study also showed big differences among day and night shift workers:
44 percent of night shift workers reported sleeping six hours or fewer per day
28 percent of day shift workers reported sleeping no more than six hours
Among night shift workers, those in certain industries were especially likely to be short on sleep: 69.7 percent of transportation and warehousing workers and 52.3 percent of health care/social assistance workers reported sleeping for no more than six hours daily
