Sleep Wellness

Fast Facts

• Over the past century, our nightly sleep time has been reduced by 20 percent.
• Sleepiness is often mistakenly attributed to boredom, an overly warm environment or a heavy meal. Rarely is drowsiness linked to its true cause: the quantity and quality of sleep.
• A substantial number of Americans are functionally handicapped by sleep deprivation; most consider the impaired judgment that accompanies sleepiness as normal and an unavoidable part of everyday life.
• Before Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. Today, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours per night on weekends.
• Approximately 70 million people in the U.S. are affected by a sleep problem.
• Sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are estimated to cost Americans over $100 billion annually in lost productivity, medical expenses, sick leave, and property and environmental damage.
• Over 35 percent of all car accidents are caused by lack of sleep.
• Seven out of 10 Americans say they experience frequent sleep problems.
• About 47 million adults may be putting themselves at risk for injury, health and behavior problems because they aren't getting enough sleep to be fully alert the next day.
• More than half of all adults surveyed said they experience one or more symptoms of insomnia at least a few nights a week.
• Indirect costs such as work loss, property damage from accidents and transportation to and from healthcare providers are estimated to be $28 billion.
• About 51 percent of Americans said they drove a car while feeling drowsy in the past year and 17 percent said they actually dozed off behind the wheel.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are caused by drowsy drivers each year. These crashes result in more than 1,500 fatalities, 71,000 injuries and an estimated $12.5 billion in diminished productivity and property loss.