USA Today - 11.11.2019

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About one-third of Americans are
sleeping less than seven hours a night –
and some of the people most affected
could be the ones responsible for your
safety.
Among working American adults,
health and safety professionals report-
ed the highest rates of insufficient sleep
(seven hours or less), according to a re-
cent study published in the Journal of
Community Health. Racial minorities,
people with less education and those
who are living alone were also at a great-
er risk for reporting short sleep.
The study, funded by pharmaceutical
company Merck, analyzed self-reported
data from the National Health Interview
Survey for more than 150,000 people
across the nation over the course of nine
years. Researchers found that the per-
centage of working Americans getting
short sleep is on the rise – from 30.9% in
2010 to 35.6% in 2018.
Among Americans working in pro-

tective service and military, about half

reported short sleep in 2018, followed by

45% in health care support occupa-

tions.

It “is disconcerting because many of

these occupations are related to popula-

tion health, well-being and safety ser-

vices,” the researchers wrote.

For medical professionals, exhaus-

tion could mean disaster: A 2011 study in

the Canadian Medical Association Jour-

nal found that lack of sleep can result in

higher rates of surgical complications if

a surgeon had less than six hours of

sleep the preceding night.

Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor

of health science at Ball State University

who co-wrote the study, said police offi-

cers, in particular, reported difficulty

sleeping at night.

“Police would say: ‘The worst thing

that you could do to me is ask me how

my day was. It ruminates in my mind

that I saw a shooting, a homicide,’ ”

Khubchandani said.

Short sleep means a greater risk of

injury, loss of productivity and prema-

ture mortality, according to the study.

It’s been linked to physical and mental

health problems, including diabetes,

heart disease and anxiety. A study this

year estimated the economic cost of

sleep deficiency at $411 billion a year.

So how much sleep are adults sup-

posed to get? At least seven hours, ac-

cording to the National Sleep Founda-

tion.

“Less than that, you’re clearly posing

a risk to your body for future chronic

diseases,” Khubchandani said. “There’s

a myth in society that Tom Cruise sleeps

five hours and Jeff Bezos wakes up at 3

a.m., but you’re never going to know

what happens to them in the long term.”

Black Americans reported the high-

est rates of short sleep, according to the

study.

In 2010, 40.6% of African Americans

reported short sleep, while only 29.2%

of white respondents reported the

same. Both groups experienced in-

creases in sleep deprivation over the

nine-year period, and, by 2018, 45.5% of

African Americans and 34.2% of white

respondents reported short sleep.

Khubchandani says a combination of

factors are contributing to the American

epidemic of sleep deprivation, and tech-

nology is playing a big role.

“There’s clear evidence that the

American workplace has been more

stressful, and, there’s some professions,

it does seem like their mind is constant-

ly on,” Khubchandani said. “People are

constantly engaged, on call. There’s a

lot of job insecurity and workplace ha-

rassment going on.”

To improve sleep, researchers sug-

gested that employers should create a

culture of health promotion at work by

helping employees develop adequate

sleep times and improving workplace

safety.

Study: Third of Americans sleep too little

About one-third of Americans are

sleeping less than seven hours a night.

VERA PETRUNINA/GETTY IMAGES

Health, safety workers

among the rest-deprived

Grace Hauck
USA TODAY

The school district fired her, local po-
lice charged her with aggravated as-
sault, and the governor of Texas prom-
ised a state investigation after a substi-
tute teacher’s violent altercation with a
student was caught on video and went
viral on social media.
Tiffani Shadell Lankford, 32, was
teaching a foreign language class Friday
at Lehman High School in Kyle when, in
the video, she appears to walk up to the
desk of a student and punchher repeat-
edly, then pull her from her desk, throw
her to the floor and stomp on her as
stunned students climb out of their
desks.
“Conduct like this won’t be tolerated

in Texas classrooms,” Gov. Greg Abbott

said in a statement. “The substitute

teacher who committed this heinous act

has been arrested and will face serious

legal consequences.”

He said the district will be investigat-

ed by the Texas Education Agency. Leh-

man is a four-year high school with

about 2,500 students in the Hays Con-

solidated Independent School District,

about 20 miles south of Austin.

The district issued a statement ex-

pressing support for the student and her

family after the “horrible incident.” The

student victim was a 16-year-old sopho-

more, the district said in a statement

post on Facebook.

“As a Hays CISD family, when one of

our schools and students is hurting, we

all hurt,” the district said in the Face-

book post. “It was a traumatic event for

the student, her classmates, and the

teachers and staff at Lehman High

School.”

Classmates alerted adults on campus

that the assault was underway, and

Lankford was immediately removed

from the classroom and questioned by

school resource officers, school officials

said. The student’s father took her to a

hospital; it was not immediately clear

whatinjuries she suffered.

“Under no circumstance is that be-

havior tolerated at Lehman High

School,” Lehman Principal Karen Zuni-

ga said. “We take the safety and security

of our students seriously. We took swift

action when this incident occurred and

will do everything necessary to protect

our students.”

The district said it, too, was reporting

the incident to the Texas Education

Agency and would cooperate with law

enforcement investigators.

The substitute teacher had worked

the district since the beginning of the

school year, when she underwent orien-

tation training. Her first substitute job

in a classroom for the district was Sept.

13, and she had worked in a classroom in

the district a total of 18 times.

Lankford, like all substitute teachers,

was required to pass a background

check to work in the classroom.

“We are appalled at the actions of this

former employee,” said Tim Savoy, chief

communication officer for Hays CISD.

“There is absolutely no excuse or cir-

cumstance that can justify what you see

unfold on the video.”

Teacher in viral video fired, charged with assault

John Bacon
USA TODAY