According to a research by the National Sleep Foundation, the proverbial "a good night's sleep" is fast disappearing from the bedrooms of nearly 27 percent of the Americans, with the deepening recession being the most disturbing factor.

The survey of 1,000 US adults revealed that economic woes are taking their toll on peoples' sleep. Almost one-third of Americans are spending anxious nights due to employment fears and other money-related worries, as against other reasons - only about 2 percent Americans fret about global warming, and a mere 1 percent worry about terrorism.

As compared to the 2001 figures, there has been a 13 percent leap in the number of people reporting sleep tribulations. While the average night's sleep has come down to six hours and 40 minutes, between 13 and 20 percent Americans are reportedly sleeping even less than six hours. In addition, there has been an almost 10-percent fall in people who sleep eight or more hours.

The survey also reiterated the well known fact that sleep is a significant sign of good overall health, alertness and efficiency of individuals -respondents who slept well performed two times better than those who did not.

In the opinion of David Cloud, CEO National Sleep Foundation, "It's easy to understand why so many people are concerned over the economy and jobs, but sacrificing sleep is the wrong solution!"