About Our Program

Our vision: A world where everyone gets sufficient sleep.

Our mission: To raise awareness about the problem of sleep insufficiency and sleep disorders and the importance of sleep health for the nation’s overall health.

CDC and its partners work to raise awareness of the impact of sleep health on the public’s health and safety. About 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems. Lack of sleep is associated with injuries, chronic diseases, mental illnesses, poor quality of life and well-being, increased health care costs, and lost work productivity. Sleep problems are major contributors to some chronic conditions, including obesity and depression but are rarely addressed.

Our work: The Sleep and Sleep Disorders Team is located in CDC’s Division of Population Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Our goal: To assess the prevalence of sleep insufficiency and sleep disorders among the US population and the importance of sleep health for the public health of the nation.

Objectives:

• Strengthen surveillance of sleep at national and state levels.
• Promote partnerships that deliver broadbased messages to diverse populations.
• Increase public awareness about sleep health, sleep disorders, and consequences of sleep deprivation.
• Promote science-based public policies that improve the sleep health of the nation.
• Advance strategies to reduce the impact of sleep deprivation on the public’s health and safety.
• Promote recognition of and access to care for all individuals with sleep disorders.

Public Health Surveillance

• The Sleep and Sleep Disorders Team works to increase awareness of sleep health and sleep disorders and their impact on the public’s health. The team has worked to develop and implement new sleep questions for CDC’s public health surveillance systems including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the world’s largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984.

Studies

• The Sleep and Sleep Disorders Team works to share sleep health research and data from state and national surveillance systems, including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The team also conducts applied public health research to assess the relationships between insufficient sleep and chronic disease, behavioral, and social outcomes.

Partnerships

• American Academy of Sleep Medicine
• National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

Responses to Public Inquiry

• The Sleep and Sleep Disorders Team responds to questions from policy makers, federal and state agencies, public health and other health organizations, and the general public.

Publicity and Sponsorship of Sleep and Sleep Disorder Events

• Drowsy Driving Prevention Week
• National Sleep Awareness Week
• CDC Sleep Workshop