You may have read the headline above and thought -- maybe for a split-second -- about the number of traffic accidents related to sleep deprivation. Wouldn't be surprised if you did, but that's a very powerful image illustrating the point made by University of Wisconsin researchers that the lack of sleep brought on by chronic insomnia can be deadly for your health.

The Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study tracked the incidence of chronic insomnia among some 2,200 state employees from 1989-2000, leading up to a recent Social Security death index search that found 128 patients had died during a follow-up period of nearly two decades.

Defined by four symptoms of chronic insomnia -- getting up repeatedly, waking up too early and problems with going to sleep and getting back to sleep -- patients who suffered from them generally elevated their mortality odds by 2.3 times or more. Although the causes of death have yet to be determined, other studies have pointed to the obvious (accidents) and the not so obvious (heart disease).

If you're having problems maintaining a consistent sleep cycle, review this checklist of tips to improve your waking health -- none of which include taking a drug -- to determine if any of them might help. If none of them do, please go see your doctor.

San Antonio Express-News June 8, 2010

American Academy of Sleep Medicine June 7, 2010