E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSIf you’re feeling sleepless in the South, you might consider moving to a different region of the country.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology scrutinized sleep disturbance and daytime sleepiness state-by-state to see if geography had anything to do with sleep quality.
Turns out, the stereotype of a sleepy southern town may be really true.
Southerners had the most problems falling and staying asleep and were also the most likely to report that they felt tired during the day, according to the report published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
California residents were among the best rested, with just 17 percent reporting problems sleeping and 18 percent saying they felt fatigued during the day.
Southerners, on the other hand, had lots of problems with daytime fatigue. Almost one-third of adults in West Virginia and Mississippi reported feeling draggy during the day, with about 26 percent of folks in W. Virginia also reporting they sleep badly. And about a quarter of folks in Arkansas and Louisiana complain of daytime tiredness.
Sleep in the Midwest was mixed. While almost 25 percent of people in Oklahoma reported disturbed sleep, only 17 percent of adults in Minnesota have snooze issues.
Neurobiologist Michael A. Grandner, the study’s lead researcher, isn’t sure why geography plays a part in sleep disorders, although he suggested stress may be a possibility. Even when the Pennsylvania researchers factored in weather, day length and health, Southerners still were more negatively affected.
To get a handle on sleep issues, researchers asked “Over the last two weeks, how many days have you had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep or sleeping too much?”
Researchers delved into sleep quality by asking, “Over the last two weeks, how many days have you felt tired or had little energy?”
The study’s data came from a telephone survey of 157,319 randomly chosen adults. Study volunteers were asked about their health, sex, race/ethnicity, age, alcohol consumption and smoking habits.
Do you have sleep problems? How do you cope?
Related:
Guzzling energy drinks but more tired than ever
Powerful antipsychotics often prescribed for 'problems of living'
Leave a Comment:
Charleston, SC- I sleep fine but short.
"Southerners, on the other hand, had lots of problems with daytime fatigue. One-third of adults in West Virginia and Mississippi reported feeling draggy during the day, with about 26 percent of folks in W. Virginia also reporting they sleep badly. And about a quarter of folks in Arkansas and Louisiana complain of daytime tiredness..."
These Nothern folks are just jealous of us southern folks. They spend too much time on their beauty sleep while we are working overtime, night shifts and all...
Plus, when you are used to the good ol BBqs, sweet corn, neck bones, sweet potato pies, fresh salads...straight from the farm; of course you gonna need a little rest here and there; that aint no tiredness folks...
You Northern "librals" need to come down here and see fer ya self; I promise ya after some good ol homecookin, ya aint going back to "libral" country anytime soon...the synthetic foods killin y'all
Not to be disrespectful, but your post is pretty far off base. I am in no way jealous of Southern folks. I also don't know many people here who are "working on their beauty sleep" instead of just working. Calling Northerners lazy is a joke. Most everyone I know works very hard. You know, we do have overtime and night shifts up North too.
I don't eat synthetic food, I eat fresh food from the local farms here in PA. Southern food is tasty, but it isn't healthy. Great for a treat once in a while, but I prefer my good 'ol healthy home cooking for a regular diet.
And I'm not sure what liberalism has to do with sleep and diet...
Sounds like PH slept through Sarcasm on the Internet 101.
You're tired because you're fat.
Honestly, I've never seen so many disgusting lumps of lard. I've been to MS, AL, GA, MO, and LA... and every single one of those states is stuffed to the gills with disgusting fat beach balls. Seriously, I never really noticed how much thinner people are in the Northern states until I spent some time in the deep south. It's disgusting, you guys. You're all fat. I didn't see a single thin person over 35 my entire time in the South.
Chris,
You know you lyin, aint ya? Sounds like somebody didnt prepare homecookin fer ya son.
Next time you come down here, we'll have some grits, chitterlings on garlic bread and some neckbone soup with corn bread on the side. That should shut you up for a while son...before ya know it, you'll be relocatin...and dont bring one of them northern grills down here...
I agree with Ed about PH. And Chris, you're a moron. You know nothing and lord only knows what you look like.
Doc - that's the worst fake Southern accent I've ever heard, and I can't even hear it.
Ah well, sarcasm is in the eye of the reader. Way to add value to the conversation though.
Well, that kind of explains why the southern states have higher drop out rates, lower overall knowledge and just down right ignorant about so many things. They are all asleep half the time and too tired to learn anything.
Yet so many appear comatose?
Pass Christian, MS.......I sleep like a Joe Biden in Congress "listening" to his POTUS (and boss read two teleprompters!................Romney/Rubio 2012!
Some of you who are replying to DocHoliday need to check your sarcasm meter. You were duped by someone who is not even that funny and is likely mildly retarded.
Sandy, yet they created the region of the nation to which the rest of the country seems to be fleeing. Economic refugees have been pouring into the Southern states for two decades in search of the jobs they chased away. You need to watch Freakanomics and a few other documentaries to learn a bit more about standardized test scores and drop out rates. Many of the "superior" school system's teachers are giving students test answers and passing the lost causes just to be rid of them. Superintendents and school board members don't keep their jobs if these stats aren't better every year - whether or not they're accurate. In the South, they force the seat wasters to leave. You're not that bright are you Sandy?
Doc, I grew up in the South. But I'm not jealous and have no desire to go back for a number of reasons, including the food. Southern food might taste good, but it's crap. Life expectancy is lower in Southern states and food and lack of physical activity play a role in that. Unless I'm in a larger city, I get very frustrated when I'm visiting there because it's so hard to find healthy food. Everything is fried and fatty. I get nauseous thinking about it.
Bobster-3106342 - I think you were the one that was duped. I have tread many of DocHoliday's comments on other stories on MSNBC. They are actually very good and educated comments on top of that. However, I guess when you are basing your opinion on a few posts, it eludes to your lack of full understanding.
JusBidenMyTime: If Romney even gets close enough to the white house, this country is in for more than sleepless nights, we are in store for NIGHTMAREs of the deeper economic depression that he will take us into.
As for this article... if they are attempting to draw some type of correlation between the South's lifestyle and sleepless nights, they did a very poor job at it. For those of you are who are attempting to promote the South's lifestyle without any facts.. I think you flunked basic education. If you are going to draw this same type of correlation that MSNBC failed to do, why not produce some facts of your own? I guess that would be to much work though now wouldn't it.
I was born and raised in Iowa.... I slept just fine. I lived in Kentucky for 15 years, I slept just fine. I now live in Texas, and I still sleep just fine.
Sure they sleep better in California, seen the weed they have out there?
Hazarding a guess, the South is the poorest region of the country and perhaps many residents can't afford air conditioning. Hard to sleep when it's too hot.
The South is also the fattest area of the country and obesity is known to cause sleep problems like sleep apnea.
I agree with the ones that said it's because of overweight people. My wife had sleep apnea when she was over weight & wore the mask for sleeping. She lost all the weight & got down to 124 lbs. She sleeps fine now no mask or anything else & no snoring she used to rattle the windows if she didn't have her mask on.
AG99- Do you have any factual information to back up your comments about the South? I would be very interested if you could actually back some of this up with factual information. I suspect if you added up the poorest sections of metropolitan cities that are not in the south, you might surprise yourself.
You must be a republican.. in capable of producing facts... but expecting us to believe everything that comes out of your lips...
I lived in the north most of my life and was always told southerns were lazy. But after living in Tennessee for five years I can tell you that a lot of them will work the northerners into the ground.
Doc, get off your high horse. Normal people, or Northerner's as you call them, wouldn't have such gruesome food in their diet as you eat. Please fast forward to the 21st century. Today it's all about Starbuck's and sushi or things seldom found in the South.
Doc, you know as well as anybody that their aren't any sleep problems in the South that can't be cured by a cheap bottle of Tennessee whiskey. Yahoooooo y'awlll.
ItsAboutTime: Looking at your past comments, I see you are typically rude so I won't take it personally. However, reading comprehension is something you might want to work on (see, I can do it too for no good reason). What part of "hazarding a guess" was unclear?
I live in Breckenridge, CO at an elevation of 11,100'. I don't have problems falling asleep, but I do have problems staying asleep.
Sandy in MO ..I have had a dozen employees from Mo. and they were hard headest and dumbest people I have ever had. But I never credit that to what State they are from;...you are an idiot.
The south is no different than any other part of country except have the drawl. We are no fatter than the a lot of big fat ones I have seen in NY, NJ, PA, DE, and others that I have worked over the years.
I sleep fine in Texas...best state in Union and will always be that...piZz on yankee land.
I don't know about y'alls comments but I'm sending this article to my husband. We moved to Va from NJ and I can tell we've had more trouble sleeping since we moved here 12 yrs ago. I wasn't a perfect sleeper in NJ but better than here. Allergies and pollen may have something to do w/ it. As for the weight of Virginians, I see many more healthy weight people in Va than morbidly obese people. Very few morbidly obese people in my area of the south. All I can say about PH and Chris-629698 is "Bless his heart".
Well, b, no need to be rude!
I wasn't attacking anyone from the south actually. I was merely saying that I'm not jealous of the South and that my friends and I from the North do work hard. I think stereotypes are bad in general.
But, I will say, a typical southern food diet, at least from what I have experienced when visiting my friends down South, is not healthy if eaten all the time. Heck, the sweet tea alone has more sugar than a person should consume in a day. Bless my heart all you want, but that's a fact.
Wow. I can't believe you guys can actually end up insulting each other over this un-story,
Like food throughout the U.S., real Southern food can be quite healthy if that is your choice. Many dishes are based on rice, beans, fish, and tomato rue, spiced with a variety of peppers, onion, and garlic. You can't eat much healthier than that. It is identical in food type and value to the famed Mediterranean diet, it's just combined and served differently.
PH - Have you ever lived in the deep south for any period of time?.....ever.....if so......where....and when?
Not lived, but have spent a lot of time. I don't think I need to live there to have authentic Southern food.
I spent my summers in WV as a kid, have a client I visit regularly in Georgia, my sister lives in Jax, Florida and my cousins are in Savannah. If you personally eat healthy, JusBiden, good for you. It's just not what I've experienced for the most part when I've traveled South.
News flash - Obesity is everywhere and I have lived in South Mississippi for 32 years and do not personally know one single, solitary obese person. It's like everyone up "North" is implying that everyone in the South is obese and does eat well, your also implying that the people in the South or something "less" than the people in the North. FYI, I also lived in New Jersey for 32 years (lots of obese people there as well) "The Pizza Heaven of America" with a Pizzeria practically on every corner, would not move back to NJ for all the tea in China (I tried for two years recently and could not get out of there fast enough), most unfriendly people I ever met.........after spending 64 years total in the north AND south.....I know what I am talking about!
My my, aren't we sensitive. I never spoke ill of the South.
I'm very happy for you that you aren't obese and that you don't know one obese person. I'm sure they are there though, the same way they are in every state.
I hate to break it to you but this past July the CDC released their report. The five most obese states, in order, were Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana. If you don't believe me, Google it.
That said, I never said everyone in the South was obese or that obesity is only in the South. In fact, I never even used the term. I merely said the foods that I experienced when visiting the South are not good for regular consumption. I would say the same for Michigan and Indiana. Perhaps they should stop frying butter.
I never spoke ill of the South either. I merely defending Northerners in response to Doc's post.
News flash - there are far worse comments here then my own so why don't you go rail against those?
Trust me, your not "breaking" anything to me, I have logged over 2 million miles with Delta to all 4 corners of this planet and "visited" many places, many times. However, if you LIVE in a place for many years, then you know what is going on, the CDC is right about obesity (statistically speaking) in the South however it by no means implies that everyone, everwhere else is a "stick" by comparison, it simply means that there are a few more in the South and nothing more. I "visited" China often, however that does not mean that I have a clue about there true culture or what they eat, etc. unless I actually LIVE there for at least 5 years!
I never said anything like that. Get over it already. Sheesh.
Denial...........is NOT a river in Eygpt!
Indeed obesity is far more prevalent in southern states.
Only Michigan measures up to Tejas, Tenn, Alabama, Miss, So Carolina, Arkansas, W Va, etc...
Still, nobody should be too proud since the "skinny" states are 20% O-Beast or greater.
These are obesity numbers and do not reflect the other 30+ % of you that are just PHAT;-O
I suspect that if you were to chart pollen and sleep problems, you'd find a lot of overlap. Breathing issues are one of the leading causes of sleep issues. The South tends to have more days with high pollen counts, so you wind up with a lot of people walking around who may not even realize that they never got into REM sleep the night before, wondering why they're always tired.
Hard to sleep with those evil scheming anti-Yankee minds of theirs.
What's the difference between a "good Yankee" and a "bad Yankee?" The good ones go for a visit and the bad ones move there...lol.
I was a bad Yankee and I kissed the ground when I got to move home!
On a serious note, when I lived in Tennessee, I don't remember having trouble sleeping. I was tired all the time due to allergies. I think they should further the studies and do tests on air quality. The air is so polluted with mold spores and pollen. Pesticides are used constantly, they spray regularly from planes and everyone has a contract to spray monthly their homes for termites, spiders, cockroaches. And, can't forget the AC going practically year round. = POOR AIR QUALITY.
*Globalove* You are so right about Tennessee.I went from NC for about 4 days.The second day(7/16/10) I ended up in the emergency room with breathing problems due to air quality and acquired allergy.The next day I went to Urgent Care for continued tightening in breathing ability.The doctor advised to leave Tennessee because,since I had not been there before,my system was reacting to the extreme air pollution there.I got home,all was ok,sleep was better,not perfect even in NC.
Why can't you douchebags leave the south alone? Every story on msnbc is about how southerners have bad credit. Southerners can't sleep. Everything is so much better in the crimeridden congested smog filled liberal shangrilas you guys love because you can drive around in your electric cars sipping green tea on the way to your broadway musical. We're apparently a bunch of toothless ignorant yokels chugging beer at tractor pulls. Well you can take your Californication and New York Sh**y and shove 'em up your snapper hole.
In response...I rest my case
Dude your not helping the "Southern Cause". In fact your helping to prove that backward uneducated people DO live in the South.
"snapper hole"
Just made my sleepy NC day.
if we all drove electric cars where would the smog come from?
"Dude your not helping the "Southern Cause". In fact your helping to prove that backward uneducated people DO live in the South."
LOL! It's you're, not your. You're is the contraction for you are. Your is a possessive. Why is it that every post on the Internet that involves criticizing the education levels of others has such critical errors?
Wow... here I thought the Civil War ended 147 years ago....
...but its ok for YOU to insult Californians and New Yorkers? ....oooh, let me guess, let me guess...!!! You're from the South, right????
Why do some of you have to be so cruel way to show your incredible bias and ignorance. To each his or her own I guess. I have lived in the South all my life but I have visited other areas of the country. I can find something beautiful everywhere I go, and in most instances the same can be said for the people. I especially love the architecture of the Churches in Northern States. I love the gentleness of the people of Maine. The excitement, and that feeling of being alive in NY. It is true we base our opinion on our experiences but sometimes they can be limited and that is unfair to the people you are lumping together based on that limited experience. If I chose to do that, the two people I encountered from NJ (and spent more time than I wished with) would have made NJ the capital for "Rudeness." However, I do understand that those from the East coast have a more direct approach to life and for those in the South who tend to soften things up, well it comes off as rude. I am however, only going by my limited experience of the NJ people. Alabama has ranked second in obesity rates for several years and as it has already been established, obesity and sleep dysfunction do correspond with one another. I am not fat at all however, and no one in my family is fat. It is often difficult to eat well when your income doesn't allow it. We have to eat what is affordable. Unfortunately for many in the south as well as other eastern states, they do not compensate for that overly fat food with exercise, therefore, obesity becomes the norm. I do agree with many of you that mentioned the allergies and the heat as well. My work is seasonal so I work in the extreme heat and humidity. When I get home in the evenings, I want to crash, but I cannot. I still have house work and cooking to do. And, until last year I attended college so I could earn my Masters. So, it is not laziness or at least not for all and we are all most certainly not uneducated although Jobs for those who are is confined to the larger cities. The southern culture places a lot of emphasis on being perfect..No one can but they still try, this inevitably leads to some stress. Life expectancy is supposedly lower in the south, but only by 4-5 years of the national average, I will take our slower pace, and good tasting food and try not to be a burden on anyone at the age of 72. All of you healthy folks who are always doing everything right, enjoy your extra 5 years of life, I will enjoy my life now.
id sleep alot better without an arab in the white house!!!
*texmann!* You slept real well with the two A-- Ho--- (2 Bushwhackers for 16 years) in the White House.You should be comatose at this point and not even worry about "The Sheik" 'cause he damn sure takes care of business in the "sheikdom"!
I think it's a combination of things. I lived with a southerner for seven years and I think that at least in this case and a number of others that I've observed, it's the weather in most of the south, combined with a toxic diet, a general lethargy, lack of interest in anything other than what they "always have done" and a guilty conscience. My common sense advise: Get up and move your body and mind eat less, then go to bed TIRED.
Can we say stereotyping? Not everyone in the south acts this way.
No, they pretty much do. I've spent a lot of time south of the Mason-Dixon line, and what Daniel said was a pretty good summary of how "y'all" act. The one exception was Austin, TX. The only place in the entire south that isn't a complete sh!thole.
all people who make blanket statements are morons. fyi, yes i realize this is a blanket statement.
Daniel... ditto on your comments. Lived down south for about 5 years. Food tastes great but really nasty for overall health. No wonder many of these people report lethargy... It was so damned hot and humid, plus eating nothing but fried foods.
Glad to be back where we have four seasons, great summers, and great food!
way to be a bigot, chris. i thought we weren't allowed to stereotype anymore? if you're not allowed to do it to one group, you're not allowed to do it to ANY groups.
i'm guessing you're about 18, with your mentality. it's too bad that you haven't realized what counts is if you're a good person, not by the way YOU LOOK. before you make another jerk off comment, i'm 5' 8" and 147 lbs. AND i live in georgia. AND i work 2 jobs.
hell, it's to hot down here to do much. Unless you like to swim & waterski.
Chris: I really take exception to your posting, as well as to Daniel Greco's, and 32maniacs, and stc1993's. With the exception of 14 months in Viet Nam, I have spent the entirety of my 70 years south of the Mason-Dixon line. My Grandmothers both lived to 84. My Grandfathers, now, died young. One died from Yellow Fever, and the other from complications arising from malaria. My Great Aunt made it to 99-1/2. I have ancestors in the South going back to the late 1600s. One was in the Continental Army. Several were Anglican Clergy - before the Episcopal Church separated from the Anglican Communion. Most lived long, full lives. And yes, we all seem to have enjoyed Southun' Fried Chicken, grits, corn pone, and so forth. It's a bit rich, but tasty. Sleeping can be difficult in hot humid weather where there's no air conditioning. But I'd rather live here (I currently reside in San Antono, TX) than in most other places.
ahhhh the south. maybe if the south got some sleep they would stop shooting each other, increase their standing in education in the nation, and join the rest of the nation and reduce their average weight.
How can you get a good nights sleep when you sleep half the day?
Yeah, because gun violence never happens anywhere else like Detroit, Newark, NYC, New Haven, etc.
Ryanwill37, The shooting isn't happening down here much as it is in the north & west.
have you seen the statistics man????? here let me enlighten you. its all in the south man. wake up!
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=113&cat=2
NYC is one of hte lowest in the country. Let me guess you 2 are southerners, because you obviously arnt informed on the matter. sigh....point proven
Guilty conscience, maybe?
Guilty of what?
Guilty of what?
Well, let's see...
Overeating, inbreeding, underachieving, being illiterate, being anti-semitic, being homophobic, not knowing how to speak the English language, being racist, cheating on your marriage, giving lip service to ridiculous religious beliefs no rational human could really hold, being irrational, being a congenital idiot, living in a pesthole, being too stupid to realize you are living in an area where a higher percentage of the population is guilty of all of the above?
If the South is so bad then why are all the yankees moving here en masse? I mean really, I hear more rude obnoxious northern accents in my hometown grocery store than I do natives now. Many of the northerners I have talked to moved here to get away from high taxes, overcrowding and crime. Yeah, ya'll got it right up there. HEHE.
Of course southerners have a high incidence of sleep problems. It correlates with a high incidence of bad diet, obesity, and alcoholism.
You lyin your ass off, aint ya? Where you get that math from?
common sense that's where. the heavier you are the harder it is for you to breath and therefore you'll have a harder time sleeping and what you do get won't rest you up as well. do you think it's a coincindence that one of the worst states for sleep that is named in the article was also last year's fattest state, west virginia?
You lyin your ass off, aint ya? Where you get that math from?
Actually, that's from the latest demographics. Feel free to google it!
I saw on one of the tv shows that is was Mississippi with the most obese people.
Wow! What a bunch of incorrigible jealous brats you commentors seem to be. I always knew yankees lacked class and manners, but I didn't know it was this bad. And I'm not a southerner.
can't stand the truth?
Haven't been around the Internet much, have you?
World Wide Web Owner's Manual, Rule #1: People on discussion boards are jackasses.
Getting ready to move from florida (where stress is a major factor, unemployment, a gov who is crazy, etc) to arkansas where I have always slept great.
Kinda trading one crazy state for another one aren't ya.
Getting ready to move from florida (where stress is a major factor, unemployment, a gov who is crazy, etc) to arkansas where I have always slept great.
It's got to have something to do with poor diet and the hot weather. Seriously, eating the heavy meals that are traditional in the south would make anyone lethargic. Eating them on a regular basis? Well, that just can't be good for your system.
IT's the heat. In Tallahassee we practically had 100 degrees last year from last week of May until September 10th. Go out to work in it and unless you are young and very fit it will kick your rear end. Even though you cool down in the AC later you never really feel right but the next day you have to do it again. Eat a heavy meal and you pay double for it. The more time you spend in these conditions the slower you go, the less calories you burn, the fatter you get - repeat cycle. We have a lot of overweight folks round here. IT is a challenge to watch what you eat. The few who exercise and run do it at 5 AM because often our overnight low in the summer is 75 to 78. and about 30 minutes before sunup the temps start rising as the sun heats the atmosphere. it can be above 90 by 9:30am and stay until 11 PM. Very difficult to rest properly. I don't think workers in this heat can produce at the level of workers who work in 60 and 70 degree temps either.
IReadyou is CORRECT: it's the heat. Been in FL since '96, sleep horribly. Visit the north, sleep like a rock in chilly bedroom. Almost never cool enough in FL. Climate inhuman most of year, completely induces lethargy, even depression. Lovely for winter visit -- ghastly rest of year. Totally enervating.
It must be difficult to fall asleep on a rotten couch on the dirt in front of their double-wides.
I have many beloved friends and relatives in the south, so no ill intent is meant here: I, too, wonder if diet, weight and smoking levels -- i.e. health-related quality of life factors -- have something to do with poor sleep. There are many smokers and heavy people with poor diets everywhere, unfortunately, but there is a higher number of people with these factors in many southern states. It's unclear how many health-related factors were taken into this account in this study.
The souther states also consume the highest about of government assistence, especially health care, per capita. We are wasting our money trying to keep them alive after all of their bad health habits.
Sandy your wrong.
New Yorkers get more government aid per person from social programs than residents of any other state, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
The state's Medicaid program is the most expensive in the nation, driving the average cost of all government benefits in New York to $9,442 per person.
New York ranks 28th in Social Security payments per person and 9th in Medicare benefits. But the spending on Medicaid, the health program for the poor, is far above that in any other state. Only
Washington, D.C., spends more.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-04-26-new-york-government-aid.h
1. New York
2. West Virginia
3. Rhode Island
4. Maine
5. Pennsylvania
6. Massachusetts
7. Vermont
8. Kentucky
9. Michigan
10. Connecticut
It's mostly northern states only 2 southern states out of the top 10 not counting D.C. which was actually 1st but it is not a state.
That's one way to look at it, STC.
USA today... I mean.
Or you could look at data from the Tax Foundation. Do so and you'd find:
That states like your chart topper New York receives $0.79 for every federal tax dollar they contribute to our nation's coffers while Mississippi receives $2.02 for each dollar IT'S residents pay in federal taxes. West Virginia is second to Mississippi at $1.76 per dollar while Rhode Island gets a buck for each buck and is a tax dollar wash. While the states in the north do tend to spend more per resident they also tend to contribute more per each of those dollars spent upon each of their needy residents than Southern states (and Alaska) do.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html#fedspend_per_taxesbystate-20071009
Now this charts the numbers from 2007 but such charts go back years... and the numbers have held fairly steady.
While you may concern yourself on the amount per person spent that figure has a lot more to do with what the States themselves are doing to serve the needs of their poorest residents. A state like Texas which is slashing it's safety-net budgets even further this year to satisfy the social agenda of it's politicians will spend even less per/person soon enough. Will that mean much? Nah... other than further lowering the amount of care those women and children will receive and increasing it's infant and childbirth mortality rates alongside the same rates for the generally poor and indigent.
The states receiving the most federal tax dollars for each dollar it's citizens shell out are predominantly southern and primarily red.
The surface numbers only tell the surface story and a newspaper with a targeted reading level of an average 7th grade understanding truly isn't one to delve very deeply. In such "news" sources it's doubtful anything deeper than a wading pool, and likely only when it's been drained for cleaning, would be explored at all if ever.
New York was your prime example.. where $9,442/person was the figure you gave. I'll accept that figure at face value (see below). That state's residents received $0.79 in federal aid for each dollar it put in. Or, if you'd rather... those residents paid almost $11,425 to have that program care for their poor women and children in those federal programs.
*your link doesn't show any chart because you've truncated the link... please resubmit url.
...but lets assume Missouri spends half that per person.. or $4,721/person. Then since it receives more federal tax dollars per contribution, $1.32 per dollar, then the state's citizens only pay $3,210 of that $4,721. The rest is born by the rest of us. That means it costs us, as a nation, more to support the miserly benefits Missourians deign to allow their poor citizens to receive than that bad "liberal" New York. It's states like New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, NH, Mass... et al that SUBSIDIZE the miserly politicians from states who ridicule them.
It may take more gross tax dollars to fund programs in states where they're actually trying to make those programs work instead of strangling them to death... but those states tend to contribute more tax dollars than they take out of the system. Meanwhile many so-called Red States like Palin's "We balance OUR budget! You Betcha" Alaska do so because for every dollar they contribute they get more than a dollar back.
This is just one of those things that really chaps peoples hides: that the states absorbing the lion's share of federal tax dollars per dollar contributed to the national pool... this, the largess of an entire nation's citizens... tend to be those who complain the most about those taxes - even as they receive more of those dollars coming back than do those "East/West coast Liberal" states these folks constantly deride.
That some states spend more per person is important and eminently factual and true... but it's not the whole story by a long shot unless that's as far as you care to see.
No wonder why they are so tired and slow down south...lack of sleep most likely.
It's a combo of stress, more hours of daylight (need darkness to feel truly sleepy) and working too much to have time to eat right or exercise enough. Hopefully we are moving soon from Southern CA to Colorado and can enjoy better sleep, less stress and better health overall :)
Yet one more area where the South lags the rest of the country. Maybe they would sleep better if they ate better, were better educated and had better job opportunities.
Where do you think all the companies are locating Gaithersburger? It sure isn't the north, All the new car manf. is in the south. AL, GA, TN & I think SC all have new car manf. plants. Atlanta GA is the no.1 city for new Corp. headquarters last I heard.
Sleep apnea often occurs when you are obese. The South has a lot of poor people living on assistance and unable to buy healthy food. I'd think that would be the correlation. Education about nutrition, birth control, oh, wait, sigh....it's all a big tea party, with cake!
arkansas, tennessee, mississippi, louisianna, alabama, west virginia, south carolina are all in the top ten for fattest states from last year. your point is extremely valid.
Can't sleep because of the high humidity and heat.
And the layer of blubber they all have year-round doesn't help, either.
This is just silly.
I live in Tennessee and you people kill me with your opinionated brat offensive responses........! Grow the F__k up and remember you're showing how really stupid "YOU GUYS" are......FA GET ABOUT IT ! Learn how to speak proper english.....geezzzz !!
It's the heat, humidity and worrying about the electric bill for running the air conditioner 9 months of the year. Try the mountains where it's dry, cool and all you have to worry about is getting in enough firewood to heat for 9 months, and how much snow you'll need to shovel -- but you stay in shape, because deer and elk doesn't have much fat. LOL
Mountain Man diet and lifestyle. I wonder who'd take it.
I bet it's stress related...since West Virginia is one of the most economicially depressed states in the country...cant blame them for tossing and turning a bit with that pressure on their minds.
I grew up in WV and I agree with this to a certain extent. People in WV are underpaid and some willingly accept it because of the "cost of living" but turn around and complain about how they don't have money. My father owned his own business, which is the only reason my parents weren't in poverty. When my parents moved further south my mom made more than twice her hourly wage at a hospital (she was in management in medical records), but housing is about the same.
I would also say that some families raise their children to never accept a hand out, especially one from the government. People are proud of what they work for and would never accept help from anyone else, which also increases the stress over their economic situation. I know if I was struggling to put food on the table in my home I'd struggle to sleep well.
"We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause." ....william james
people are the same all over the world, they all think THEY are the only ones that are right about their point of view...and they're ready to fight and die to defend their position
Look at the obesity rates and compare to the sleep study. would be interesting.
lol, just came here to say that. the heavier you are the harder it is to breath and the worse your ability to sleep will get. southerners, especially those from MS, are notorious for being overweight. before any sotherners think i'm talking out my @** i live in memphis and see people from MS everyday and travel into Mississippi every other weekend at least to visit in-laws.
Nobody lives in Memphis; they exist in Memphis until the gangbangers take them out.
for someone who is supposedly pro-america you sure have a lot of negativity towards many parts of it. the gangbangers stay in south memphis and orange mound. there's alot of city that's not near those areas.
I grew up in WV and have lived all over the country. I currently live in GA. I'm not overweight, nor have I ever been. I'm also educated. I attribute my tiredness to a 50 hour a week job and taking care of a small child. I will admit that the slow pace of the "deep south" drives me insane. I think the pace may be more of an issue than actually being tired. In the northeast you don't have time to be tired.
HAHAHAHA.
Only a southerner would think that's a busy schedule.
A 50-hour week in New England is a vacation.
Most of my friends that live in NE have 40 hour a week jobs unless they are attorneys or accountants. Last time I checked most people do work 40 hours a week all over the country, not just the south.
What a poor attitude you have. People such as yourself are what give northerns a bad name.
Justamazin...
That simply is not true that almost everyone works 40 hrs per week. Most everyone I know have salaried positions and work closer to 50-60 hours a week or more. In my opnion, hourly jobs are more likely to work limited hours because they are paid by the hour... and overtime may not available.
I've got to agree with maniac on this one. Everyone I know works more than 40 hours a week actually on location - and then way more when you consider the blackberry tether.
I feel very fortunate now to have a job where I physically only need to be in the office 8-5. That said, my employer expects that even if I am not in the office I will still do what needs to be done to get the job done, whether it's during the day, late in the evening or over the weekend.
Before I was lucky enough to have this arrangement, I worked 8:30-7:30 most days and was still tethered to the blackberry when I got home.
And I'm not a lawyer or an accountant. I'm in marketing.
The BLS says otherwise ...
Many of my friends are engineers, consultants, or work in financial services. Many of my clients do the same. Almost all have 9 - 5 business hours and are not available outside of those hours. The only clients that I can think of off the top of my head are attorneys and doctors who work beyond 9-5.
Also, I don't know of many professionals outside of the medical field that work hourly. I certainly don't, but wish I did.
PH: I refuse to be tethered to a blackberry, ever. When I leave my office my work day ends. I don't consider being available to answer e-mails to be actually working to a certain extent. If I am working it's on a client's project, not answering e-mails.
Well, BLS is wrong. Either people aren't reporting their hours honestly, or it's a northerner thing.
My job requires me to be available all the time for particular reasons but, the reality is, if it didn't and my employer still expected it I would do it because I like being employed with upward mobility. I have more leeway in my current job, so if I do have to dial in off hours a lot I can adjust my hours in the office.
But, in my last job if I choose to not be accessible someone would have surely stepped up to snatch it out from under me. NYC is a dog eat dog world.