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Whatever Happened to Sleep?

© Mari Brodersen

I had planned to write about a completely different topic this time, but something on the "Today Show" recently grabbed my attention. Matt Lauer interviewed James Walsh, of The National Sleep Foundation, whose message was that Americans aren't getting enough sleep. Sleep, one of life's simple pleasures, is an absolute necessity for good health and optimal functioning. It is during sleep that our cells repair themselves.

Various magazines and journals have carried articles about Americans' sleep deprivation in recent months. The same conclusions are drawn over and over again:

1) Americans are becoming more and more sleep-deprived.

2) Sleep deprivation is not good for you. It causes irritability, moodswings, short-term memory lapses,difficulty in focusing on a task, slowed reaction times, and errors in judgment.

3) Driving while sleep-deprived is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. It can be deadly.

4) Prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to temporary psychosis.

Most researchers agree that we need a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night, and sometimes more. How does one know if one is sleep-deprived? If you need an alarm to wake up, wake up with a headache, wake up tired, or doze off during the day, you are sleep-deprived.

HOW DO WE BECOME SLEEP-DEPRIVED?

The first thing to consider would be an underlying medical disorder. The National Sleep Foundation website features a self-test which you can use to ascertain if that is a possibility. If you have any questions at all about your health, please contact your doctor,as such questions are beyond the scope of this topic.

Nonmedical causes for sleep-deprivation are myriad and most have to do with how we live our lives. We have complicated, rather than simplified, our lives -- and the results are not healthy. The National Sleep Foundation conducted a recent study and has reported the following results: "Instead of working to live, they [Americans] are living to work, a shift that has had a profound impact on their personal lives. Adults report spending less time sleeping, engaged in social and leisure activities, and having sex less often than they did just five years ago." "Those who work more sleep less." The same report also cites marital dissatisfaction, having children at home, and being a caregiver as being additional causes of sleep-deprivation.

A British study also implicates "stress and personal worries," being female, "health concerns," and being a single parent.

Even our children are subject to sleep deprivation due to early-morning classes (often beginning before the sun has risen), extracurricular activities, and social activities. I know kids who go to school, then go to practice (baseball, piano, choir, karate, etc) before dinner, perhaps another practice after dinner, then come home and do their homework, only to wake up before sunrise the next day.