Consider the costs of skimping on sleep.

By Chance Gusukuma

As we scramble to make do in these tough economic times, the quest for rest continues. According to an Institute of Medicine study released in 2006, an estimated 50 million to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from sleep disorders that interfere with their daily activities and adversely affect their health and longevity. The report, “Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem,” noted the hundreds of billions of dollars a year spent on direct medical costs for doctor visits, hospital services, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medication.

Those who do not get enough sleep fall along a spectrum ranging from mild to massive sleep restriction. Fatigue, for example, is common among bleary-eyed parents of young children or harried folks rushing to and from work. “When you live a busy life, one of the easiest things to do is to cut out a couple of hours of sleep,” says Marc Kruger, M.D., medical director of the Kuakini Health Systems’ Pulmonary Sleep Disorders Center. “People think, ‘I’ll just stay up a little later or wake up a little earlier because I gotta get my kids to school or I gotta put a few more hours in at the office.”

So, what’s the ideal amount of sleep we should aim for? Most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, so the old eight-hours-a-night guideline is a good average. “Everybody’s a little different,” says Kruger. “Some people function extremely well on six hours. And some people truly need 10 hours.”

A 2008 survey of 7,095 participants of HMSA’s HealthPass at the worksite found that respondents who reported getting six or fewer hours of sleep a night missed an average of 4.2 days of work per year. By contrast, those who hit the sleep “sweet spot” – getting between seven and eight hours of sleep a night – missed 3.5 days a year and were found to be leading healthier lifestyles overall.

A quick catnap or sleeping in on the weekend helps, but isn’t the best solution. “Catching up doesn’t necessarily translate into overall health or longevity,” says Kruger. “The short-term benefit is there, but the long-term benefit is not.”

Sometimes, a health issue or disease may be a contributing cause for people who are severely sleep restricted. Those who snore or are chronically sleepy should consider talking to their primary care physician about possibly referring them to a sleep specialist. A sleep evaluation can check for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, a condition in which a person’s airway is blocked during sleep. Sleep apnea can cause a marked decrease in blood oxygen levels, heartbeat irregularities, and high blood pressure, as well as lead to heart and lung problems over the long term.

Fortunately, Hawaii residents generally seem to make lifestyle choices that help them get more sleep. “People in Hawaii have placed greater importance on family, recreation time and lifestyle than they do on business and income -- more than people almost anywhere else in the country,” says Kruger. “But to try and convince someone in California or New York of that, it’s a totally different story, very difficult. But that’s really the tack you’re taking, trying to impress upon people the importance of balance within their life. Sure, you gotta work, but it should probably be more important to make it home and have family time instead of staying at the office ‘til 11 p.m.”