Aloha means good night

James Clements
Published: March 2, 2008

Are you always tired- Do you find yourself not getting enough sleep at night- Do you have days where you have to overdose on caffeine in the morning just to stay awake, and then you need a beer or glass of wine (or two) that night to fall asleep-
Well, have I got the solution for you! According to the Centers for Disease Control, if you'd like a good night's sleep, all you have to do is move to Hawaii.

Last week, the CDC released a study that showed 70 percent of those questioned had not gotten enough sleep every day for the past month. The bright side, however, was of the roughly 20,000 people surveyed in the four states included in the research (Delaware, Hawaii, New York and Rhode Island), those living in Hawaii slept the most. So, apparently, instead of hitting the snooze bar one more time, we should all just hang 10 instead.

The CDC also estimated "50-70 million people suffer from constant sleep loss or sleep disorders" and warned that "insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions - such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression."

(Not to mention how many of us spend most of our waking hours in activities like drowsy driving, tired bickering with our spouses, and any number of other things that can get you killed on the spot.)

The CDC report couldn't be more timely. As it turns out, today is the start of National Sleep Awareness Week. While that may seem oxymoronic (my best sleep happens when I'm unaware of it), it's a great excuse to spend a few days dreaming about that most beautiful of sights: the back of our eyelids.

According to the NSAW.org Web site, this week "is a public education, information, and awareness campaign that coincides with the return of Daylight Saving Time, the annual 'springing forward' of clocks that can cause Americans to lose an hour of sleep."

Say that again- The campaign coincides with the return of Daylight Saving Time. Already- This weekend- We're just now into March and already we have to give back that hour of sleep- Apparently, we started moving our clocks ahead the second Sunday in March last year, but I must have slept through it.

In conjunction with this week's Sleep Awareness activities, the National Sleep Foundation (I'm not making that up, and I'd sure love to work there) is hosting the Great American Sleep Challenge at sleepfoundation.org/challenge.

The Challenge is an educational experience and a great time waster if you're an insomniac. You'll find tools that let you decorate a virtual bedroom, video games aimed at identifying the sleep stealers in your life (you could save time on this one and just look across the dinner table), and a number of daily posters and quizzes sure to be popular with your wide-eyed children who'll probably come home from school one day this week to inform you how important sleep is - even though they're the reason you're not getting enough of it.

But seriously, no one needs an awareness week to know we're not getting enough sleep. With increased pressures at work and the same old pressures at home, there simply aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done.

And for those of us who can't move to Hawaii just yet, we'll always have Kona in the morning. Aloha.

James Clements is a Culpeper resident and
independent columnist who appears each Monday.
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Get some shut-eye

If you are struggling with a sleep disorder, or would just like to create a better environment for sound sleep, the CDC recommends the following:

» Stick to a regular sleep schedule

» Sleep in a dark, well-ventilated space at a comfortable temperature.

» Avoid stimulating activities within two hours of bedtime.

» Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol in the evening.

» Avoid going to bed on a full or empty stomach.

» See a doctor if you are concerned about chronic sleep problems.