Health
Americans need more sleep, less stress, experts say, as Gallup poll reveals troubling findings
Many Americans are getting too little sleep and have too much stress.
A new Gallup poll revealed 57% of adults would “feel better if they got more sleep,” while 42% said they get “as much sleep as they need.”
These findings have nearly reversed in the last decade, Gallup noted in a press release. The last measurement in 2013 found that 56% of Americans got the sleep they needed while 43% did not.
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Overall, however, Americans are getting fewer hours of sleep than they did in past decades.
In 1942, 59% of Americans were getting eight hours or more of sleep per night, while only 3% were getting five hours or less.
In 2024, only 25% of Americans get an average of eight hours of sleep, and 20% reported sleeping for five or less.
Young women are the least likely to get enough sleep, according to the study — with 36% of females versus 48% of males reporting getting enough shuteye.
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Sleep amounts for both men and women showed “significant declines from previous readings in 2013 and 2004,” according to Gallup — and are the lowest measured for each group to date.
The decline was found across all age groups, although young adults between ages 18 and 29 saw the smallest difference.
Stress-sleep connection
Gallup suggested that an uptick in stress could be driving this downward trend in sleep, as the American Psychological Association reports a “strong connection between stress and sleep quality.”
The poll showed that 63% of Americans who reported wanting more sleep also “frequently experience stress.”
“Over the past 30 years, the number of Americans who are stressed has been on a steady incline after a sharp drop in 2003,” Gallup reported.
“The most recent data show that nearly half of all Americans, 49%, report frequently experiencing stress — up 16 points over the past two decades and the highest in Gallup’s trend to date.”
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Young women are also most likely to frequently experience stress, “exceeding men their age by 14 points,” according to Gallup.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, confirmed this relationship between sleep and stress, calling it the “cycle of worry” during a Thursday appearance on “America’s Newsroom.”
“They’re connected,” he said.
“If you get more stressed, you don’t sleep; if you don’t sleep, you get more stressed.”
Siegel explained that “all of this spirals out of control,” since sleeplessness is often remedied with caffeine — yet caffeine “interferes with your sleep cycle.”
“If you get more stressed, you don’t sleep; if you don’t sleep, you get more stressed.”
The same goes for drinking alcohol before bed to induce sleep, which “wears off and you wake up in the middle of the night,” the doctor warned.
Exposure to the blue light of smartphone screens can keep people awake, Siegel said.
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“All of this is very bad for health,” he said. “It leads to heart disease, it increases your risk of stroke, it causes you to gain weight.”
For young women in particular, several factors could be causing them to lose sleep, including the use of social media, which can “feed anxiety,” Siegel said.
A potential fix for the sleep-stress cycle is practicing “sleep hygiene,” Siegel suggested, which includes sleeping in a dark room away from your cell phone.
“I treat stress and sleeplessness as the same thing,” he said. “That’s why I don’t believe in sleeping pills … You’re just covering up the problem.”
He added, “I want to get at why you’re worried and what I can do about the worry.”
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Dr. Wendy Troxel, a Utah-based sleep expert and senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, told Fox News Digital in an interview that stress levels have remained “very high” since the COVID pandemic.
“[For] populations navigating multiple demands, including young people who are going to school or starting new jobs in this topsy-turvy world, it’s understandable that they are experiencing increases in stress, and that’s manifesting increases in sleep disturbances,” she said.
In some instances, Troxel pointed out, lack of sleep has been worn as a “badge of honor” to prove that people are busy or productive.
“But I think that that cultural misconception is starting to wane,” she said.
“The reality is, as a culture, we’ve just become more aware of the importance of sleep over the past 10 years, which is a great thing.”
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To break the “vicious cycle” of stress impacting sleep and vice versa, Troxel offered several tips, including maintaining a consistent sleep and wake schedule to ensure that stress doesn’t “invade your life.”
Incorporating a wind-down routine prior to bed can also bring down stress levels, the sleep expert noted.
These routines can involve relaxing activities such as deep breathing exercises, cuddling with a partner, journaling, doing gentle yoga or listening to music.
“It’s just about finding something that you can ritualize and do on a nightly basis to set the stage … to put aside all the demands and stress of the day and prepare for winding down and [going] to sleep,” Troxel said.
For people who wake up in the middle of the night due to stress, she advised getting out of bed, performing a wind-down activity and then returning to bed.
This technique, called stimulus control, prevents the brain from forming the habit of waking up at a certain time to ruminate on stressful thoughts.
“We all have occasional stress-related sleep disturbances, but if that starts happening night after night, it becomes habit-forming,” she said.
“And that’s where we see more chronic problems like insomnia. So, if you see that happening, treat it as a habit that your brain is learning — and break it.”
For more Health articles, visit foxnews.com/health.
Health
Ask a doc: 'Is it dangerous to crack my neck or back?'
Cracking your back or neck might provide quick relief and a satisfying popping noise — but is it a safe practice?
“When you stretch or manipulate your spine, such as by twisting or bending, the pressure within the joint changes,” Dr. William Kemo, a neurosurgeon at the Virginia Spine Institute, told Fox News Digital.
“This can cause a sudden release of gas bubbles, leading to a cracking sound.”
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People often crack their back or neck out of habit, or to temporarily relieve tension or stiffness, Kemo noted.
“Typically, they do this to loosen up their back or neck when it is feeling tight or stiff. The ‘cracking’ is the popping of a tight or stiff facet joint.”
While the act of cracking can release endorphins (feel-good chemicals) for temporary relief, it doesn’t address the source of the tension, according to Tori Hartline, a chiropractor at Sunlife Chiropractic in Frisco, Texas.
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Popping or cracking can even lead to injury, she warned.
“Chiropractors are trained to look for restricted areas in the spine and perform specific adjustments to decrease tension and improve range of motion,” Hartline said.
“When an individual tries to pop their own back or neck, the segments that release gas are hypermobile segments versus the area of restriction. The joints above and below the area of restriction will move too much to compensate.”
She added, “Therefore, these cracks do not address the problem and can instead lead to further injury.”
The impacts of cracking your back or neck can include joint hypermobility, sprains or strains due to taking the joint too far past its proper range of motion — and even a fracture if too much pressure is applied, Hartline noted.
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Kemo agreed, warning that cracking your back can cause unnecessary wear and tear on your spine.
“It may lead to strain on the muscles and ligaments surrounding the spine, potentially causing injury or exacerbating existing issues,” he added.
It’s especially dangerous to crack the neck, which could impede blood flow and, in very rare cases, could increase stroke risk, according to Dr. Todd Sinett, a chiropractor at Tru Whole Care in New York.
Alternatives to cracking
There are plenty of safe alternatives that will provide longer-term relief without exacerbating potential issues with the spine, Kemo said.
“Commit to a daily stretching routine, and engage in core muscle exercises to strengthen the muscles supporting the spine,” he recommended.
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Regular physical activity can also be helpful.
“A body in motion stays in motion, and helps avoid stiffness and alleviates tension,” Kemo said.
The doctor also suggested optimizing your ergonomics at home, at work and in the car.
“Examine your daily routines to see if there may be repetitive situations that leave you feeling stiff or experiencing tension/tightness,” Kemo suggested.
This might include hunching in your chair or seat in the car, holding your device and looking down for prolonged periods, or sleeping in a certain position.
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Hartline also suggested seeing a licensed chiropractor, who can identify the areas of restriction and prescribe therapeutic exercise and stretches to give you the best results.
“If you’re experiencing persistent discomfort or pain, it’s best to consult with a medical specialist for proper evaluation and treatment.”
Overall, both experts agree that it’s important to listen to your body and avoid forceful manipulation of the spine.
“If you’re experiencing persistent discomfort or pain, it’s best to consult with a medical specialist for proper evaluation and treatment,” Kemo said.
“Remember, what works for one person may not be suitable for another — so personalized guidance is key.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
Health
Seniors and breast cancer: Why aren’t older women told to get mammograms?
A major public health agency last week expanded its breast cancer screening guidelines to include younger women — but some people are concerned that one key age group has been excluded.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced on April 30 that women between ages 40 and 74 should get mammograms every other year.
This is a significant change from previous guidelines, which said women should begin biennial mammograms at age 50, but could opt to begin as young as 40.
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Some experts object to the fact that the agency doesn’t include official screening recommendations for women older than 74.
“The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older,” the agency stated in the guidance.
Dr. Denise Pate, medical director with Medical Offices of Manhattan and contributor to LabFinder, voiced her disagreement with the lack of mammogram recommendations for older women.
“I think it is an antiquated view that sells short the potential of women older than 75,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“The recommendations consider that the older population may be over-diagnosed, potentially with slow-growing breast cancers — but this does not take into account the increase in life expectancy for American women.”
A woman who is 75 right now has a life expectancy of 87, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lack of research
One of the main reasons that women over 74 were excluded is that the age group was not included in clinical trials.
“When the major randomized controlled trials were performed in the 1970s and 1980s to show how effective mammograms are, they didn’t include enough women in those age groups to confirm their necessity,” Dr. Jacqueline Holt, medical director of women’s imaging for national radiology provider RadNet in Wilmington, Delaware, told Fox News Digital.
“Cancer risk doesn’t drop off at 74 — the risk increases,” she said.
“It’s misinformation that cancers grow slower in this age group and that women will die of something else first.”
Risks vs. benefits
The primary risk noted for screening older women is the potential for false positives.
“The potential harms of breast cancer screening in older women include false positive results and overdiagnosis,” said one study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
“Cancer risk doesn’t drop off at 74 — the risk increases.”
Among women 75 years and older, 200 out of 1,000 who are screened over a 10-year period will experience a “false alarm,” the researchers noted, “which can cause pain, anxiety and distress.”
Pate acknowledged that this risk does exist.
“Of course, with continued screening, there is the continued risk of finding breast cancer in an earlier stage or finding a suspicious image that prompts recommendations for biopsy, proving to be a false positive — and this can cause a lot of anxiety,” she said.
The risks of not screening, however, are “leaving these women in the dark about their status,” the doctor said.
“As I always explain to my patients, knowledge is power,” Pate told Fox News Digital.
“I would rather choose anxiety about a biopsy that may or may not prove breast cancer versus anxiety of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for a cancer that is found too late due to lack of screening.”
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Holt agrees the benefits outweigh the risks.
“The primary risk that the USTF focuses on is anxiety due to false positives or callbacks that don’t lead to a diagnosis of cancer,” she told Fox News Digital.
“The death rate has decreased by at least 40% since 1995, thanks to mammographic screenings finding the cancer earlier and better treatment.”
Women do have the option to continue screening beyond the age of 74 if they choose, the doctors noted — and this should be covered by their insurance plan.
“There is no cut-off for age,” Holt noted. “Medicare will still cover the cost of a mammogram.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) all recommend mammograms starting at age 40.
“Age alone should not be the basis to continue or discontinue screening.”
“Each of these three groups bases its stop age on a woman’s life expectancy and not simply on their age,” Pate noted.
The ACS has stated that women should continue receiving mammograms as long as they are in overall good health and expect to live for another 10 years or more.
More than one-quarter of cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women 75 years and older, according to ACOG.
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“Age alone should not be the basis to continue or discontinue screening,” according to a statement from ACOG.
“Beyond age 75 years, the decision to discontinue screening mammography should be based on a shared decision-making process informed by the woman’s health status and longevity.”
Dr. Wanda Nicholson, chair of the USPSTF, sent a statement to Fox News Digital about the decision to omit women over age 74 in the recommendations.
“Women deserve to know what the science says about how they can best stay healthy as they age,” she said.
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“We looked carefully at all the available evidence about whether women who are 75 and older should be screened for breast cancer, but unfortunately, the available research was limited.”
“None of the studies of breast cancer screening included women in this age group, so we are urgently calling for more evidence on this important population.”
She added, “In the meantime, we encourage women who are 75 and older to talk with a trusted health care professional about what preventive care is right for them, given their specific health circumstances.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the ACOG and the ACS requesting additional comment.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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