Hawai'i rests easy, or at least it does compared to three other states.

That's one of the findings of a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, which examined sleep survey findings from here, New York, Delaware and Rhode Island. It found that only 8.8 percent of people locally reported having sleep or rest problems during every day the past month.

That compared with 14 percent of the people surveyed in Delaware and about 11.9 percent in Rhode Island. The percentage was 9.9 for New York.

Sleep loss can be associated with health problems, including depression, obesity and certain behaviors such as cigarette smoking, heavy drinking and physical inactivity. The CDC said an estimated 50 million to 70 million people nationwide suffer from chronic sleep loss and disorders.

The report released Thursday shows about 38 percent of people here didn't report any sleep or rest problems during a 30-day period. Looked at another way, 62 percent of Hawai'i adults had varying degrees of sleep or rest problems during that period.

Locally, some physicians and hospitals such as the Queen's Sleep Center at The Queen's Medical Center and the Sleep Disorders Center of the Pacific at Straub Clinic and Hospital have set up programs to address sleep disorders such as apnea and insomnia. The CDC said a study found the percentage of adults who report sleeping six hours or less increased from 1985 to 2006.

Dr. Bruce Soll of the Queen's Sleep Center and a John A. Burns School of Medicine associate professor, said sleep disorders are a significant problem.

"We don't live in a world that values sleep," Soll said, noting value is placed on activities in waking hours.

He said among more prevalent problems locally are teens who get to bed late and wake early for school and overweight people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which people stop breathing while sleeping.

"This is a big problem here in Hawai'i," Soll said.

The percentage of people getting restful sleep in Hawai'i compared to only about 28 percent of people in Delaware and Rhode Island and 29 percent in New York.

Among the other study findings were that people who were unemployed or unable to work scored higher in terms of having sleep or rest problems every day during a 30-day period. Retirees reported the least amount of sleep problems.

The CDC said a 2005 National Sleep Foundation poll found that U.S. adults sleep an average of 6.9 hours a night and that most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep nightly to feel fully rested. The foundation said children ages 5 to 12 need 9 to 11 hours, and adolescents require 8.5 to 9.5 hours.

The CDC report released Thursday was based on telephone surveys conducted in 2006, with about 6,100 people in Hawai'i being interviewed.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.