One out of three people envies, maybe even resents, Eli Holzman.

About 35 percent of American adults sleep less than seven hours a night, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But in the middle of a national Sleep Awareness Week, sprawled on an easy chair at The Oaks shopping center in Thousand Oaks, Holzman noted with a grin he is not one of them.

"I sleep like a baby," said the 75-year-old retired engineer, measuring his nightly slumber at eight hours, sometimes more. He noted the days when worries served as an alarm clock are over.

"I don't have financial problems. I don't have family problems. I don't have health problems," he said.

The CDC study, released in February, said a lack of sleep can be linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other conditions.

It said people without jobs slept less than people who are employed. Married people slept better than those going it solo.

People in the prairies of South Dakota slept the longest, according to researchers. People in Hawaii slept the least.

California hovered close to the national rate; 34 percent of the adults sleep less than seven hours.

In Ventura County, the sleep-challenged were everywhere on Tuesday, dozing in a corner of a coffeehouse or planning trips for sleep assessments at a medical office.

Elizabeth Nicely was awake, and waiting for coffee -- no sugar, no cream -- at Starbucks before rushing to a morning appointment. It takes the Port Hueneme woman a half-hour to fall asleep a night. Five, maybe six hours later, she rises to get her two kids going.

"I just drink it," she said of her coffee. "I don't think it helps."

At the same business, Alan Howard hoisted his 15-month-old daughter, Thatcher. Her sister, Merrick, was born two weeks ago.

So the answer to the seven-hour question is a not-in-your-life no. Howard and his wife get up every two or three hours and are lucky to tally six hours a night.

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"Our strategy now is I go to bed earlier than my wife does but then I wake up earlier so she can sleep in," Howard said.

Travis Hall once slept so poorly he nodded off regularly when driving for his job selling surgical implants.

A CPAP machine for sleep apnea brought instant and dramatic relief. But Hall has hit another rough patch. On Tuesday, he napped in a lobby of The Oaks while his wife and daughter shopped.

"I toss and turn all night," he said, noting his hands turn numb and his shoulder aches. He wakes up at 4:30 a.m. or earlier and starts wading through work email.

"I'd love to sleep better," he said.

The people who do sleep are happy to offer advice.

"People who have sleep deprivation don't exercise," said Steve Lopez, a plumber and triathlete from Ventura. He bikes 100 miles a week, runs 18 miles and swims five miles.

And he sleeps soundly, eight hours a night.

Dr. Raj Bhatia, an Oxnard sleep specialist, tells his patients to clean up their sleep hygiene. Go to bed at a regular time. Don't use the computer or TV immediately before going to sleep.

Often, problems are triggered by anxiety. Sometimes, there are easier answers, as with the high school senior who Bhatia discovered was going to bed at 1 a.m. and getting up at 6 a.m.

"We're a nation in which we don't value sleep. We value everything else," he said, rattling off a list including jobs and finances. "Sleep is more important."

Jay Balter once slept four or five hours night, working late and getting up early. He was a rehab counselor who would sometimes lie awake worrying about his clients.

Now 76 and living in Camarillo's Leisure Village, he sleeps eight hours, every now and then in one continuous, glorious slumber. He credits golf, meditation, hot baths and a significant change in lifestyle.

"I stopped working," he said.

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HOW TO SLEEP

* Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

* Try to keep the same sleep schedule on weeknights and weekends.

* Use the hour before bed for quiet time.

* Avoid heavy meals within a couple hours of bedtime. Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed.

* Spend time outside every day and be physically active.

* Keep your bedroom quiet, cool, and dark.

* Take a hot bath or use relaxation techniques before bed.

Source: National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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SLEEP QUIZ -- EXPLAINING THE ANSWERS

1: Although it is a time when your body rests and restores its energy levels, sleep is an active state that affects both your physical and mental well-being. Adequate restful sleep, like diet and exercise, is critical to good health. Insufficient restful sleep can result in mental and physical health problems and possibly premature death.

2: Many people doze off unintentionally during the day despite getting their usual night of sleep. This could be a sign of a sleep disorder. Approximately 40 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. An untreated sleep disorder can reduce your daytime productivity, increase your risk of accidents, and put you at risk for illness and even early death.

3: Persistent loud snoring at night and daytime sleepiness are the main symptoms of a common and serious sleep disorder, sleep apnea. Another symptom is frequent long pauses in breathing during sleep, followed by choking and gasping for breath. People with sleep apnea don't get enough restful sleep, and their daytime performance is often seriously affected. Sleep apnea may also lead to hypertension, heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. However, it can be treated, and the sleep apnea patient can live a normal life.

4: Opening the car window or turning the radio up may arouse a drowsy driver briefly, but this won't keep that person alert behind the wheel. Even mild drowsiness is enough to reduce concentration and reaction time. The sleep-deprived driver may nod off for a couple of seconds at a time without even knowing it--enough time to kill himself or someone else. It has been estimated that drowsy driving may account for an average of 56,000 reported accidents each year--claiming over 1,500 lives.

5: People with narcolepsy fall asleep uncontrollably --at any time of the day, in all types of situations-- regardless of the amount or quality of sleep they've had the night before. Narcolepsy is characterized by these 'sleep attacks,' as well as by daytime sleepiness, episodes of muscle weakness or paralysis, and disrupted nighttime sleep. Although there is no known cure, medications and behavioral treatments can control symptoms, and people with narcolepsy can live normal lives.

6: Insomnia has many different causes, including physical and mental conditions and stress. Insomnia is the perception that you don't get enough sleep because you can't fall asleep or stay asleep or get back to sleep once you've awakened during the night. It affects people of all ages, usually for just an occasional night or two, but sometimes for weeks, months, or even years. Because insomnia can become a chronic problem, it is important to get it diagnosed and treated if it persists for more than a month.

7: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a medical condition distinguished by tingling sensations in the legs--and sometimes the arms--while sitting or lying still, especially at bedtime. The person with RLS needs to constantly stretch or move the legs to try to relieve these uncomfortable or painful symptoms. As a result, he or she has difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and usually feels extremely sleepy and unable to function fully during the day. Good sleep habits and medication can help the person with RLS.

8: The human body's biological clock programs each person to feel sleepy during the nighttime hours and to be active during the daylight hours. So people who work the night shift and try to sleep during the day are constantly fighting their biological clocks. This puts them at risk of error and accident at work and of disturbed sleep. The same is true for people who travel through multiple time zones quickly; they get 'jet lag' because they cannot maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule. Sleeping during the day in a dark, quiet bedroom and getting exposure to sufficient bright light at the right time can help improve daytime alertness.

9: As we get older, we don't need less sleep, but we often get less sleep. That's because our ability to sleep for long periods of time and to get into the deep restful stages of sleep decreases with age. Older people have more fragile sleep and are more easily disturbed by light, noise, and pain. They also may have medical conditions that contribute to sleep problems. Going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning, getting exposure to natural outdoor light during the day, and sleeping in a cool, dark, quiet place at night may help.

10: Our bodies are programmed by our biological clock to experience two natural periods of sleepiness during the 24-hour day, regardless of the amount of sleep we've had in the previous 24 hours. The primary period is between about midnight and 7:00 a.m. A second period of less intense sleepiness is in the midafternoon, between about 1:00 and 3:00. This means that we are more at risk of falling asleep at the wheel at these times than in the evening--especially if we haven't been getting enough sleep.

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