Are You Sleep Deprived?

Majority of Americans are having much less sleep than what the body needs to be healthy and have normal functioning, according to a physician doing research for the American Sleep Association. This is corroborated by many surveys and research studies undertaken in recent years.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 3 of 10 Americans are habitually sleeping less than 6 hours each night. This is significantly less than the recommended minimum 7 hours of sleep. In addition, sleep disorders afflict about 50-70 million Americans, resulting in constant loss of sleep.

Can they still function?

Neuroscientists in the U.S. and Singapore have found that people tired from lack of sleep still experience periods with normal mind functions and are able to finish their tasks.

But these normal periods are interspersed with periods in which the mind responds slowly and the brain suffers a significant drop in its ability to focus and to process incoming information, especially visual stimuli.

Only persons deprived of sleep exhibited dramatic drops in the activity level of their visual cortex, the part of the brain responsible for interpreting what is seen through the eyes.

The cycle of normal periods and impaired periods demonstrates the competition between one part of the brain that tries to stay awake while another part is preparing to shut down and go to sleep.

The normal periods experienced by a sleep-deprived person can lead to a false sense of security; in fact, the brain is functioning so inconsistently that there could be dire consequences. This is the very real danger of being sleep-deprived.

Traffic experts estimate that over 100,000 car crashes are associated with sleep loss. According to the American Sleep Association, large-scale accidents such as the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, the Challenger shuttle explosion, and the Exxon-Valdez oil spill are similarly linked to fatigue and loss of sleep. Sleep deprivation can be very dangerous.

Lack of sleep is also associated with a variety of health conditions, like obesity and diabetes.

How much sleep should you get? The usual recommendation is at least 7 hours, although some experts say 8.

In 2002, a sleep researcher at the Scripps Clinic Sleep Center found that those having 6.5 to 7.5 hours a night appeared to live the longest. The finding came from a cancer prevention study that compared the death rates of over a million Americans who also provided data on their sleep habits.

The study also indicated that having too much or too little sleep equally increased the risk of illness.

Safety Tips:

* Follow a regular schedule of sleeping and waking.
* Check your mattress. Your sleep will be disturbed if your mattress is not giving good support.
* If you can’t sleep, don’t lie in bed.