Sleep disorders cost `hundreds of billions of dollars,' report says.

Byline: Judith Graham

CHICAGO _ Tens of millions of people are suffering fatigue-filled days and wakeful nights as television, the Internet and other distractions contribute to an escalating epidemic of sleeplessness in America, according to a major new government study.

An astonishing 50 million to 70 million Americans experience chronic sleep disorders while millions more are sleep deprived, according to the report by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Increased sleeplessness is "driven largely by broad societal changes, including greater reliance on longer work hours, shift work, and greater access to television and the Internet," but physiological factors such as obesity also play a key part, the institute's report found.

The study documents the connection between too little shut-eye and problems ranging from poor school performance to injuries and…