America: a Sleep- Deprived Nation
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A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP AMERICA: A SLEEP-DEPRIVED NATION CHAPTER ONE America: A Sleep- Deprived Nation SAMPLE 12 ©2015 WELCOA welcoa.org AMERICA: A SLEEP-DEPRIVED NATION A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP ara doesn’t sleep well at night, and she hasn’t for years. Over a cup of coffee she confides in me that it takes hours for her Sto fall asleep, only to wake up several times in the course of the night, staring at the alarm clock, wishing it were morning. Sara is not alone in her quest for a good night’s sleep. She has joined the ranks of millions of restless Americans who claim a similar disturbance in what should be a most pleasurable experience; one that we spend one-third of our lives engaged in. The rebound effect of poor quality sleep reveals itself in the normal waking hours of Americans suffer through poor work productivity, irritability, anxiety, poor communication skills, slow reaction time when driving, questionable parenting skills and several from poor sleep behaviors that are less than becoming of one’s optimal potential. America’s dependence on coffee is as much a symptom as a possible cause of the problem. quality resulting America is a sleep-deprived nation! According to a recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation, over 60% of Americans suffer from poor sleep quality resulting in everything from falling asleep on the job and absenteeism in everything from to marital problems, chronic health issues and car accidents. Moreover, our growing obsession with screen-held devices now plays a leading role in this as well; the newest science reveals that both screen light and WiFi microwaves falling asleep onthe affect our biological clocks, and not in a good way. A quick check of the nation’s pulse reveals that insomnia, in all its many forms, job and absenteeism has become one more aspect on a growing list of national health epidemics. Moreover, insomnia is now linked to many chronic diseases, from coronary heart disease to cancer. The newest evidence links insomnia to obesity. The to marital problems, lack of a good night’s sleep, as a common health issue, is made quite evident with the proliferation of pharmaceutical television ads promising an insomnia cure to the newest health epidemic of the high-tech age. It’s no secret that sleep chronic health issues medications are among those at the top of the list for prescriptions in the U.S. Perhaps most troublesome is the dramatic incidence of insomnia reported and car accidents. in middle school and high school students whose brains are still developing. For adults and children alike, a succession of restless nights becomes a battle of thought processes between the conscious mind’s inability to turn off, and the unconscious mind’s inability to communicate essential information through dreams. The end result is that both sides claim casualties, and neither side is victorious. America, as a sleep-deprived nation, also gives a whole new meaning to the expression “the coming zombie apocalypse.” Many wouldSAMPLE say it’s already here. In our rapidly changing world where it is typical for the average person to become allured by the bombardment of screen time sensory stimulation, it has become quite common for people to shave off precious time on either welcoa.org ©2015 WELCOA 13 A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP AMERICA: A SLEEP-DEPRIVED NATION end of one’s allocated nocturnal sleep allotment. The end result is that we sacrifice our long-term health for short-term pleasure. Oddly enough, many of the Millennial Generation and Generation X’ers feel that sleep is a form of surrender; surrender in avoiding responsibilities, surrender to curiosity (Internet surfing) or merely surrender to exhaustion. By and large, people hate to give in to surrender, as it conveys a sense of weakness. For some, (perhaps many) people who see hyper-productivity as a badge of honor, eight hours of sleep is perceived as a weakness compared to the now common four or five hours. Ironically, the lack of consistently good sleep habits can become a serious lifelong weakness where one’s personal health is the biggest casualty. Simply stated, for those who hold fast to today’s 24/7 behaviors that negate a good night’s sleep, prolonged health and wellness are inadvertently sabotaged. Many compromise a good night’s sleep for a mediocre day at the office, all the while searching for happiness. What’s the answer? To paraphrase a famous quote: “Sleep is bliss, follow your bliss.” Americans may be sleep deprived, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There are simple solutions and positive behaviors that can bring healthy sleep habits back into balance. To begin with, a solid awareness of the problem is the first step to resolving it. The bottom line is this: Quality sleep is essential to your optimal health. Insomnia Defined Insomnia is a term used to define the inability to get a good night’s sleep. Recently, it has become a catch-all phrase to describe a multitude of sleep- related problems. So pervasive is insomnia, some physicians now call it a “Wakefulness Disorder.” Neither a disease nor a syndrome, insomnia can best be defined as a symptom of other health related issues, from sleep apnea (irregular breathing), depression, chronic pain and acid reflux to emotional stress. Insomnia is often characterized as the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep or repeatedly waking up. The disruption of “sound sleep” is often suggestive of other health concerns or issues (e.g., menopause, side effects of prescriptions, or psychological problems such as stress, anxiety, or depression). The Purpose of Sleep In any given day there are 24 hours. In an ideal world (no matter where you live on the planet), eight of these hours each day are deemed necessary for sleep, so that one can function optimally during the remaining 16 hours. When you do the math, the numbers don’t lie. We spend about one-third of our lives sleeping. Given this amount of time, one might conclude that quality SAMPLEsleep is not only important, but essential to one’s health and well-being. This is true. Death and taxes may be a certainty in life, but to this list we can add sleep, for without adequate sleep, the waking hours can be a living hell. 14 ©2015 WELCOA welcoa.org AMERICA: A SLEEP-DEPRIVED NATION A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP It is interesting to note that back in the early ‘70s several DJ’s across the country would seek a greater share of their potential target audience by pulling on-air publicity stunts. One such promotional gimmick included staying on the air for days on end with barely more than a few bathroom breaks. In what sounds like one more urban legend tall tale, each DJ who tried this foolish challenge began to show signs of psychosis within 36-48 hours of sleep deprivation. In essence, without adequate sleep, they became totally incoherent and unable to perform their job. This practice of marathon DJ’ing abruptly stopped when the end result proved to be embarrassing, if not disastrous for the listening public. Remarkably, each sleep-deprived DJ recovered fully once sleep was reintroduced into their routine. Identical psychotic behavior was also observed with the finalists of marathon dances and promotional free car giveaway contests (remember the advertising phrase: “Put your hands on a Toyota and never let go?”). From this absurd data collection of case studies, it was concluded that not only is sleep each night important, but essential to our mental and physical health. Least we forget that to this day, sleep deprivation is a form of torture in many countries around the world. The Study of Sleep The subject of sleep as a topic of scientific investigation began, in earnest, about 50 years ago, after World War II. For most of this period scientists were at a loss to explain the exact importance of sleep, other than in general terms; rest and rejuvenation. It was also at this time that rapid eye movement (REM) was first fully noted, but not clearly understood. Interestingly, most of the sleep research centered on what happens to us mentally and physically when we don’t sleep. Why do we need to sleep? Rest and rejuvenation may seem like the most intuitive (and obvious) answers, but the mind-body-spirit dynamic is far more complex than this. Anyone who ever tried to pull an all-nighter in college quickly realized that the attempted gains were short lived, and that both mind and body can only be pushed so far before both memory and physical stamina give out. Originally, one theory suggested that sleep was thought to be a way to avoid dangerous nocturnal, carnivorous predators. As sleep research began in earnest, physiology experts cited “restoration,” where the metabolic activity of cells works to repair tissue damage and keep our bodies in homeostasis, as one of the primary reasons for sleep. Psychologists, in turn, explain that the conscious mind needs to rest so that the unconscious mind can problem solve and consolidate memories. Dreams (whether you remember them or not) are the mind’s waySAMPLE of resolving personal issues, and offering solutions to problems begging for attention. Dreams help us navigate our next day journey, when we take the time to decipher them. welcoa.org ©2015 WELCOA 15 A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP AMERICA: A SLEEP-DEPRIVED NATION With the introduction of electroencephalogy (EEG), a way to measure brain waves, it was revealed that as one goes from a conscious state (awake) to an unconscious state (sleep), the amplitude (spike) of brain wave activity decreases significantly.