Americans are considered sleep-deprived in today's modern society, but is that lack of enough "Z's" also causing worshippers to snooze in church? Most local ministers say no, but many have strived to make services more interactive and less napper friendly.

The Rev. Steve Goodier of Salt Lake's Christ United Methodist Church says sleeping in his church isn't much of a regular problem in the 21st century. "In the past, yes."

He believes there are still a few people out there who have trained themselves over the years to look upon a worship service as nap time, though.

Still the Rev. Goodier has a keen sense of humor about church sleeping. That's because he had his share of late parties in his college days and would sometimes fall asleep on the front row. That pastor never mentioned those sleepy times, and the Rev. Goodier ended up marrying the pastor's daughter.

"We don't do a lot of standing in our services, but we try to be interactive," he said.

The Rev. Neal Humphrey of Fruit Heights' Westminster Presbyterian Church, said falling asleep in his church would be difficult to do. The seats are comfortable enough and the service lasts a good doze time of between 75-90 minutes, but the service is active and "pew time" is not passive sitting.

Bishop George H. Niederauer of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, said falling asleep in church has never been a problem for him personally, but it has been a long-standing tradition among Catholic congregations.

He hasn't noticed any increase in pew snoozers in recent years, though it has always been a challenge for the preacher to proclaim the word as actively.

"We're not there as entertainers," he said. "But we do have to attract an audience."

He agrees that getting enough rest is the responsibility of the churchgoer before getting to church.

The Rev. Mike Gray, senior pastor of Southeast Baptist Church in Salt Lake, said in today's sleep-deprived society, it can be a natural tendency to get sleepy if you sit down in a quiet church.

While this is an entertainment-oriented world, the Rev. Gray said churches shouldn't directly compete against that, but they still must attract a congregation and keep them interested.

From stand-up songs, to video presentations, to sermon outlines to the occasional use of drums, his faith has explored ways to prevent any openings to doze off. For kids, they are sometimes encouraged to "draw the sermon" and that keeps them interested,

The Rev. Tom Goldsmith of the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, said dozing almost never happens in his religious services.

"It's only an hour long," is one reason, he said.