Sleep Disorder Information, Resources & Support

Detailed information on sleep disorders, sleep problems and your mental health. Types, sleep disorder symptoms, sleep disorder treatment and how to get better sleep.

Welcome to the HealthyPlace Sleep Disorders Center

It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it. - John Steinbeck

If Steinbeck is right, then many of our difficult problems aren't getting solved.

Experts agree that, on average, adults need eight hours of sleep. However, according to the Sleep in America poll conducted on behalf of the National Sleep Foundation:

• almost 1 in 5 people admit they only get about six hours of sleep per night.
• nearly 7 in 10 say they experience frequent sleep problems.

This makes sleep disorders some of the most frequently occurring and undertreated disorders in North America. All told, we get 20% less sleep than past generations with no evidence that we require any less sleep¹.

Risks Associated with Sleep Disorders and Problems Sleeping

Sleep disorders take their toll, both on the individual and those around them. Sleep disorders have been linked to:

• depression
• diabetes
• obesity
• hypertension
• heart disease and heart attacks
• stroke
• various other chronic illnesses

Worse yet, it is estimated that 100,000 vehicle crashes a year are due to drowsy driving in the U.S. alone. In one study, people who drove for 17-19 hours performed worse than those who had a blood alcohol level of 0.05%. (A blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent is typically considered legally impaired in the U.S.) In the 2005 Sleep in America poll, 28% of working adults said they had made errors at work or had missed work, events or activities due to disordered sleep in the last three months alone.¹

And while sleeping too little has been found to more than double the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease ², consistently sleeping too much is correlated with increased mortality rates. However, it is thought that the factors of low socioeconomic status and depression are the primary cause for this correlation.³

References