2- you're getting very sleepy
A: FINDINGS
Many people are surprised to learn that researchers have discovered a single treatment that has many benefits. It improves memory, increases concentration, strengthens the immune system, and decreases accidents. Sound too good to be true? It gets even better. The treatment is completely free, even for people with no health insurance. It also has no side effects. Finally, most people consider the treatment highly enjoyable. Would you try it?
You probably should. For most people, this treatment consists of getting an extra 60-90 minutes of sleep each night. Both psychologists and psychiatrists have maintained for years that Americans have overlooked one of the most significant public health problems—chronic sleep deprivation. That is, few Americans regularly obtain the seven or more
hours of sleep they require each night. The consequences of chronic sleep deprivation can be truly disastrous. Laboratory experiments provide evidence that failing to get enough sleep dramatically impairs memory and concentration. It increases levels of stress hormones and disrupts the body's normal metabolism. Research outside the laboratory further suggests that long-term sleep deprivation leads to greater susceptibility to motor vehicle accidents.
Research shows that many people are carrying a heavy "sleep debt" built up from weeks, months, or even years of inadequate sleep. In experiments on sleep debt, researchers pay healthy volunteers to stay in bed for at least 14 hours a day for a week or more. Most people given this opportunity sleep about 12 hours a day for several days, sometimes longer. Then they settle into sleeping seven to nine hours per night. As William Dement put it, "this means ... that millions of us are living a less than optimal life and performing at a less than optimal level, impaired by an amount of sleep debt that we're not even aware we carry."
But is carrying a sleep debt really so harmful? Careful experiments by psychologist David Dinges and others show that the answer is yes. Dinges and colleagues recruit healthy young volunteers who live continuously in Dinges's sleep laboratory for 10-20 days. Dinges randomly assigns them to receive different amounts and patterns of sleep over time. He controls access to stimulants, such as caffeine, and constantly monitors the amount of sleep they get. Dinges has learned that people with fewer than eight hours' sleep per night show pronounced cognitive and physiological deficits. These deficits include memory impairments, a diminished ability to make decisions, and dramatic lapses in attention. As sleep deprivation continues, these deficits grow worse. Consistently failing to get enough sleep is the biological equivalent of consistently spending more money than you make. Napping can help reduce a sleep debt, but there are also long-term benefits to maintaining consistent. predictable sleep patterns. Whereas naps do improve cognitive functioning after periods of sleep deprivation, they do little to repair the negative mood that results from sleep loss.
Many people argue that they get by just fine on very little sleep. However, research shows that few people can truly function well on less than eight hours' sleep per night. Dinges estimates that. over the long haul, perhaps one person in a thousand can function effectively on six or fewer hours of sleep per night. Many people with chronic sleep debts end up napping during the day or fighting off sleepiness in the afternoon. Moreover, people who chronically fail to get enough sleep may be cutting their lives short. A lack of sleep taxes the immune system and may even lead to disease and premature aging. To make this worse, most people who are sleep deprived do not even realize it. If you get sleepy during long meetings or long drives, chances are you are chronically sleep deprived.
B: SIGNIFICANCE
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy or fatigued driving leads to more than 100,000 motor vehicle crashes per year. Even small disruptions in sleep can wreak havoc on safety and performance. In a nationwide study between 1986 and 1995, psychologist Stanley Coren studied the effects of the single hour of lost sleep that many Americans experience when they start daylight saving time. The result? A 17% increase in traffic deaths on Mondays following the time change (compared with the Mondays before). Psychologists such as Gregory Hicks have observed similar findings. They observed an increase in traffic fatalities in the week following the change to daylight saving time. It is harder to estimate the toll sleep deprivation takes on people's health, happiness, and productivity. But according to the National Sleep Foundation, the annual loss in worker productivity due to sleeplessness is about $18 billion.
C: PRACTICAL APPLICATION
In light of the dramatic public health consequences of sleep deprivation and unhealthy sleep patterns, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) established National Sleep Awareness Week. In cooperation with partner organizations, this event is promoted each year during the week when people set their clocks forward for daylight saving time. In 2003, the NSF reported that about 600 sleep centers in North America sponsored instructional activities in local communities during National Sleep Awareness Week. Many U.S. states now educate drivers not only about the dangers of driving while intoxicated but also about the dangers of "driving while drowsy."
