A Sleepy Gen Y

“Youthful energy” may only be a myth for America’s Generation Y crowd. According to a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), 19 to 29 year old Americans are as sleepy as shift workers. Thirty-three percent suffers from significant daytime sleepiness which is comparable to that of shift workers (29%), which are a notoriously sleepy group. More than half (55%) of the country’s young adults report “waking up feeling unrefreshed.”

Also called Echo Boomers or Millennium Generation, the Gen Y crowd appears to do too much in their waking hours without hardly any rest. They struggle with their full school loads, extra-curricular activities, social engagements, domestic affairs, or work load everyday - five days a week - and sometimes, even on weekends.

One out of two (53%) young adults reveal that they will sleep less in order to get more done, and 55 percent admit to postponing bedtime to watch TV or surf the Internet. There are so much popular TV fares today that kids watch them – even if they reach late into the night – so that they won’t miss out with their friends and classmates’ conversation topics. The Internet, on the other hand, offers a whole range of activities that can keep kids busy and up all night. There’s chatting, instant messaging, online gaming, or just plain browsing and surfing.

The poll showed young adults find going to work and handling job-related stress more difficult due to sleepiness. More than a third (36%) have a difficulty getting up for work, while nearly a quarter (22%) are occasionally or frequently late to work due to sleepiness. Forty percent of them say they are sleepy at work at least two days a week or more. This is reflective of the fact that more and more young people are juggling work, school, and other activities.

In addition, the effects of sleepiness to the younger adults range from annoying to deadly. The most alarming is that a full 60 percent of this age group has driven while drowsy, with nearly one out of four (24%) saying that they had actually dozed off behind the wheel. Twenty-two percent of young adults also report driving faster when they’re tired.

Despite the frightening poll findings regarding sleepiness problems in the US, physicians fail to ask an enormous 75 percent of young adults regarding their sleeping behaviors. And for those who do seek out sleep aids, 26 percent of young adults turn to alcohol, which can actually disrupt sleep.