A new poll for the National Sleep Foundation has revealed that more and more Americans are developing problems with their sleep because of their concerns about the economy and current financial crisis.

According to the poll, 27 per cent of people who took part in a survey, said that they had suffered from disturbed sleep in the past few weeks due to money issues. That included 16 per cent of those worried about personal finances, 15 per cent of those who experienced concerns about the present state of the U.S. economy, and 10 per cent of the participants who were afraid to lose their jobs.

Problems with sleep have significantly raised since the year of 2001. The number of Americans who sleep less than 5-6 hours per night, increased from 13 per cent to 20 per cent in the past 8 years. Those individuals who reported to sleep eight or even more hours a night, came down from 38 per cent in 2001 to 28 per cent this year.

David Cloud, the chief executive officer of the National Sleep Foundation, said in his statement that it is pretty simple to understand as to why millions of people are worried about the state of the economy and their jobs. However, sacrificing sleep and, therefore jeopardizing health, is not a right thing to do, and does not seem like a proper solution to the problem.

Almost 40 per cent of all Americans acknowledge the fact that sleep is very essential and important, as well as healthy diet and physical activity, to health and well-being in general. But only 32 per cent of the population with sleep problems consult their physician and discuss their issues with them, Cloud added.

Americans whose rest at night is affected by financial concerns, also reported that their sleep disturbance interferes with their ability to work in an efficient way, to exercise, to consume healthy diet and even to perform sexually, compared to individuals who do not experience sleeping problems. People who did not get enough hours of sleep were more likely to eat foods high in sugar and carbohydrates, and they smoked cigarettes or other tobacco products much more often than their better counterparts. In addition, they said that due to sleep issues they were more than twice as likely to skip family gatherings and leisure activities.

More than 50 per cent of all sufferers said that they have driven in a drowsy state at least once during the past 12 months, and almost one third of drivers who participated in the survey, reported that they have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle.

With the present crisis in economy and personal stresses over financial worries, National Sleep Foundation recommends that people develop and maintain good sleep, healthy diet routines, and be physically active in order to fight anxiety, depression, and remain healthy and productive in hard times.

Tags: Sleep, Personal Finance

More articles by eNotAlone.com