I live in the midwest (NE) and I hear it all the time, mostly from ignorant or lesser educated people, usually by choice. I had a roommate who use to get called late at night and he'd answer like "What do you want?, I'm sleep". I thought I misheard him the first time or 2 but every time the word came up it was used in that manner... as if he was assuming the process himself, no longer being the person he was and transcending as the very form of inactive consciousness.

I mean, the first time I heard it, I had to put the fork down because I was eat, my thoughts were run so fast. It literally made my stomach turn that I ran to the bathroom, and there I was sh*t so bad, prob due to the verbal diarrhea I was hear.