(ARA) - When did you last get a restful night's sleep? Most Americans can't recall the last time they got eight hours of uninterrupted, rejuvenating sleep.
From school age to retirement, Americans burn the candle at both ends -- it has simply become part of our culture. The National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) annual Sleep in America survey consistently tells us that Americans, including children, don't get enough sleep. The NSF's 2004 study found that a majority of school age children are sleep deprived. Between extracurricular activities, after-school jobs, hours of homework and late-night TV, kids' sleep gets the short end of the stick.
Unfortunately, adults aren't the best role models for prioritizing sleep. According to the NSF, as many as 47 million adults aren't meeting their minimum sleep need in order to be fully alert the next day.
"When I tell my patients to spend more time in bed, asleep, they find it hard to do," says Dr. Susan Czapiewski, geriatric psychiatrist and member of the Select Comfort Sleep Advisory Board. "They have deadlines to meet, bills to pay and nighttime is often when they finally get a moment to themselves. There are too many alternatives to sleep that end up higher on the priority list."
Humans have the biological equivalent of a "sleep bean counter" in the brain that automatically records the seconds, minutes and hours spent (or not spent) sleeping. And eventually the sleep bean counter starts demanding payback of the time stolen from rest. When people get overly tired they become inattentive, irritable, clumsy and slow.
On a more alarming note, drowsy driving causes as many as 100,000 automobile accidents and 15,000 deaths each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. People who sleep fewer than six hours a day -- doctors on hospital call, truckers and night shift workers to name a few -- all risk sleep-related motor vehicle crashes.
Sleep loss also amplifies the effects of chronic illness as well as mood disorders. "Insomnia can cause depression, and vice versa," says Czapiewski. And conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes are all harder to control when sleep is insufficient.
By choice or necessity, Americans make lifestyle decisions that take them down the path of sleep deprivation and its consequences. On the flip side, a good night's sleep has all the makings for a comeback as a positive virtue. The importance of sleep is gaining more recognition each year.
To contribute to public awareness on the subject, Select Comfort, the nation's largest bedding retailer, created the Sleep Advisory Board in 2003. Made up of seven prominent researchers, physicians and sleep experts, the Sleep Advisory Board is involved in Select Comfort's research and education initiatives. Several of the board members participate in the company's "Ask a Sleep Expert" service, answering customers' sleep-related questions via e-mail communication.
To submit a question the Select Comfort Ask a Sleep Expert panel, visit www.selectcomfort.com SleepExpert.
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