Nearly 40 percent of Louisiana residents report getting less than seven hours of sleep per night lack of sleep poses a risk to physical and mental health.
Dr. Phillip Conner of the Sleep Disorder Center of Louisiana attributes this to the state’s prevalent industries where residents work long, irregular hours in energy, oil fields, offshore rigs, or casinos, leading to “shift worker syndrom.”
“I tell guys every day, 'Look, you’re always behind the 8 ball in an attempt to try to catch up on sleep.' And right when you get to catch up your sleep cycle changes again, and so it’s an ongoing struggle,” said Conner.
In addition to shift work, Connor says conditions like sleep apnea—linked to obesity, smoking, and pollution—are common and can cause serious health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
“There’s some questions in terms of whether it’s a structural problem with the upper airway or if is it more of a weight-driven issue. So, both of those two categories are really some of the drivers for it,” he said.
Conner urges those experiencing chronic fatigue or poor performance in daily tasks to evaluate their sleep patterns. Connor emphasized a big indicator is how you’re feeling in the morning.
“When you’re waking up, and we always feel a little bit sluggish when we first get up and going, but if that doesn’t dissipate fairly quickly and you have an ongoing fatigue that persists that could be a sign that the sleep quality is invalid or not where it should be,” Conner said.
