(Image Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 

BY DAN KENNEDY

 

The next time you think about hitting your snooze button, consider the results of the latest American Time Use Survey. It shows Americans are averaging more than eight hours of shut eye every night - precisely, eight hours and 43 minutes, for people older than 15. Business Insider reports that’s too much sleep.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports youth sleep the most, followed by senior citizens.
Adults ages 45-to-54 sleep the least, but are still averaging more than eight hours each night.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends getting between 7 and 9 hours a night . So, what’s wrong with the latest numbers? Business Insider points out the time you spend sleeping, is time you could be devoting to more productive tasks.

Ya snooze, ya lose, I guess.

Billionaire Donald Trump credits some of his success to long work days and little sleep.

A 2009 New York Daily News article points out Trump has asked , "How does somebody that's sleeping 12 and 14 hours a day compete with someone that's sleeping three or four?"

The article also reports:
President Obama can work on just four hours of sleep every night.
Leonardo da Vinci created the Mona Lisa on just two hours of sleep.
But Albert Einstein slept 10 hours each day.

NPR takes the latest survey results a step further and breaks down what Americans currently do on an average workday. People devote more than 9 hours to work, followed by sleep. Nearly three hours are spent on leisure. And one hour of the day is spent eating and drinking.

ABC News reports research released earlier this year found people sleeping more than eight hours a night have a 15-percent greater chance of dying , for any reason, compared to those who sleep seven hours. The researchers came from the University of Southern California, San Diego, and the American Cancer Society.