A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed on Thursday that Americans have less sleep due to distractions like Internet surfing and TV watching.

The CDC experts said people who sleep less are liable to physical, mental and health defects.

Health experts say chronic sleep loss is associated with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cardiovascular disease, depression, cigarette smoking and excessive drinking.

Out of 19,589 adults in the four states surveyed by CDC, 10 percent said they did not get enough sleep or rest every single day the previous month and 38 percent reported they never got enough sleep in seven or more days during last month.

The survey was conducted in New York, Hawaii, Delaware and Rhode Island and involved asking people the number of days they had enough sleep or rest.

According to nationwide data released by CDC, the percentage of adults who reported sleeping six hours or less a night increased between 1985 and 2006.

The National Sleep Foundation recommended adults to sleep seven to nine hours a night, children ages 5 to 12 to sleep nine to 11 hours and those 11 to 17 to sleep 8.5 to 9.5 hours.

We don't realize that sleep is vital of overall health and that chronic sleep loss is related to both physical and mental health issues, said Lela McKnight Eily, CDC behavioral scientist.

The survey revealed that younger adults are more likely than older adults to report getting too little sleep.

Eily advised people who do not get enough sleep to establish a regular sleep schedule and avoid caffeine or other stimulants before bedtime.

New York