WASHINGTON — A yearly report that ranks how healthy people are in nearly every county of every state has measured how much sleep people get for the first time.
“We’re supposed to get seven hours of sleep a night or more,” says Julie Willems Van Dijk, co-director of the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Report.
“Without that, we run the risk of a lot of different issues — chronic diseases like obesity and heart disease.”
Among counties in the metropolitan Washington area, the category of “insufficient sleep” applies to 47 percent of Prince George’s County. Close behind is Charles County, with 45 percent.
In Virginia, the locality with the highest “insufficient sleep” percentage is Manassas Park City with 37 percent. Close behind, with 36 percent reporting insufficient sleep, are Prince William County, Alexandria, Spotsylvania County and Manassas City.
Willems Van Dijk says being sleep-deprived does more than increase risk of developing chronic diseases: “Your memory isn’t as good. You’re not as sharp. You’re more prone to falling asleep when you’re driving,” she says.
“You’re more prone to mental health issues like depression and anxiety. So sleep is a great medicine for you.”
Around here, the best-rested community is Carroll County, where only 30 percent report getting insufficient sleep. Loudoun County is very close, with 31 percent.
Long commutes don’t appear to be a way to explain people losing sleep: There appears to be no correlation between the report’s findings on insufficient sleep and the data on people who drive alone on long commutes.
In Maryland, localities reporting the lowest (Carroll County, 30 percent) and the highest (Prince George’s County, 47 percent) numbers for insufficient sleep share the same number for percentage of people with long commutes driving alone — 58 percent.
