A recent research shows that 1 in 5 US complain excessive sleepiness. This is almost 20%. This data increase concerns about public safety and the possibility for misfortunes and damages. The study from Stanford University found out that at this percentage also belongs 11% that report severe sleepiness. The excessive sleepiness is widespread and is much common in the United States than in Europe. Stanford sleep expert Maurice Ohayon, declared that according to a study that was published in 2002 in the Journal Neurology shows that the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness in five European countries was about 15 per cent.

Scientists have studied statistics from a representative sample of 8,937 people 18 or older living in Texas, California, and New York. The members were asked by telephone about their sleeping habits, health, sleep problems, and mental disorders.

Excessive sleepiness can be a sign of other medical issues, including sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, a breathing problem that occurs when muscles relax for the period of sleep, causing soft tissue in the back of the throat to collapse and block the upper airway.

Shift work disorder involves complaints of insomnia or excessive sleepiness in people who are planned to work during their normal sleep hours, often accompanied by reduced alertness and impaired mental ability, which can contribute to accidents. Insufficient sleep is plaguing the American population and is one of the leading factors for excessive daytime sleepiness.

Severe sleepiness was more prevalent in women than in men, 13% to 8.6%, Ohayon mentioned that in an abstract presented at SLEEP 2010, the 24th yearly assembly of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. The following tips are the result of a research: people with obstructive sleep apnea were three times more likely to be sleepy; people with a diagnosis of insomnia and those who said they sleep for six hours or less were more than two and a half times more likely to report drowsiness; people who work at night and those with major depressive disorder were almost two times more likely to report sleepiness.

Ohayon mentioned that sleepiness is underestimated in its daily existence consequences for the whole population, for the shift workers and for the people reducing their amount of sleep for any kind of good reasons.

He also said that it is a mistake for people to intentionally cut back on sleep hours.

The CDC released a survey in October 2009 showing that about 11% of respondents said they never got enough rest or sleep during the 30 days prior to being questioned.

In his abstract, Ohayon reports receiving an educational grant from the Cephalon biopharmaceutical organization.