Sleep: Study Finds Many Are Too Tired for Sex

Too tired for sex? You are not alone.
About one in every four Americans married or living with someone say they are so sleep-deprived that they are often too tired to have sex, according to a new study by the National Sleep Foundation. Lack of sleep also keeps many people from work and family functions, the report said.

The study, based on a random sampling of 1,007 adults ages 25 to 60, focused on differences in sleep habits among ethnic groups — but the responses on tiredness and sex were about the same across the board.

Whites were the most likely — at a rate of about 1 in 10 — to have received a diagnosis of insomnia. Blacks were the most likely to have sleep apnea, about one in seven.

Hispanics were most likely to be kept up at night worrying about work, money, relationships and health problems, with about three in every eight losing sleep over such concerns.

Asian-Americans slept the best of all, with five of every six saying they got a good night’s sleep at least a few nights a week. They were also less likely than members of other groups to watch television or drink alcohol before going to bed, and less likely to share a bed with a spouse or partner, said Dr. Barbara Phillips, a sleep clinician and member of the sleep foundation’s board. She added that “what we do in the hour before bedtime is important.”