Survey: American Sleep Getting Worse

The US National Sleep Foundation has released the results of their latest sleep survey. It shows that the quality of American sleep is getting worse.

Only about half of those questioned report getting a good night's sleep every night. Almost one in six get less than six hours of sleep. 26% of women and 20% of men say that they get less sleep than they need.

Sleep problems are affecting American relationships. Almost a quarter of couples reported sleeping separately becuse of problems such as snoring, insomnia or excessive night movement. 35% reported relationship difficulties due to sleep problems.

OSA / Snoring Treatment Launched in UAE

The Khaleej Times reports on the launch in the UAE of a new surgical treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the snoring it produces.

The procedure is designed to prevent blockage of the airways when sleeping, allowing better flow of oxygen. It was first applied in the US in 1998 and has now been made available in the UAE at the Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah.

Dr Fahim Tadrus said: "The operation basically will give the patient a balance for the tongue and will not close the airway".

Related Information: OSA, snoring

Lack of Sleep Could Increase Heart Problems for Alcoholics

New Kerala reports on research that lack of sleep could increase the risk of heart problems for alcoholics.

The research by the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute found sleep loss produced more heart variations in alcoholics than in other patients.

The findings suggest that for alcoholics habitual sleep loss could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Politicians and Doctors Sleep Deprived

The BBC Reports that UK politicians and doctors are amongst the most sleep deprived people in the country.

A study by the sleep council showed that average time asleep was just under eight hours. However politicians averaged only 5.2 hours and on-call doctors a mere 4.5

Given the potentially serious effects of sleep deprivation this is a worrying result. Jessica Alexander of the Sleep Council said:

"the results of this study are of concern in that they demonstrate that our politicians, the people responsible for making decisions that affect all of our lives, may not be in the best mental or physical shape to do so"