Healthy Sleeping...

Think of everything you do during your day. Try to guess whichactivity is so important you should devote one-third of your time todoing it. Probably the first things that come to mind are working,spending time with your family, or pursuing leisure activities. Butthere’s something else you should be doing about one-third of yourtime—sleeping.Many people view sleep as merely a “down time” when their brainshuts off and their body rests. In a rush to meet work, school,family, or household responsibilities, people cut back on their sleep,thinking it won’t be a problem, because all of these other activitiesseem much more important. But research reveals that a number ofvital tasks carried out during sleep help to maintain good health andenable people to function at their best.While you sleep, your brain is hard at work forming the pathwaysnecessary for learning and creating memories and new insights.Without enough sleep, you can’t focus and pay attention or respondquickly. A lack of sleep may even cause mood problems. In addition,growing evidence shows that a chronic lack of sleep increasesthe risk for developing obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, andinfections.Despite the mounting support for the notion that adequate sleep,like adequate nutrition and physical activity, is vital to our wellbeing,people are sleeping less. The nonstop “24/7” nature of theworld today encourages longer or nighttime work hours and offerscontinual access to entertainment and other activities. To keep up,people cut back on sleep. A common myth is that people can learnto get by on little sleep (such as less than 6 hours a night) with noadverse consequences. Research suggests, however, that adults needat least 7–8 hours of sleep each night to be well rested. Indeed, in1910, most people slept 9 hours a night. But recent surveys showthe average adult now sleeps less than 7 hours a night, and more2than one-third of adults report daytime sleepiness so severe that itinterferes with work and social functioning at least a few days eachmonth. As many as 70 million Americans may be affected by chronicsleep loss or sleep disorders, at an annual cost of $16 billion inhealth care expenses and $50 billion in lost productivity.What happens when you don’t get enough sleep? Can you make upfor lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends?How does sleep change as you become older? Is snoring a problem?How can you tell if you have a sleep disorder? Read on to find theanswers to these questions and to better understand what sleep isand why it is so necessary. Learn about common sleep myths andpractical tips for getting adequate sleep, coping with jet lag andnighttime shift work, and avoiding dangerous drowsy driving.Many common sleep disorders go unrecognized and thus are nottreated. This booklet also gives the latest information on sleepdisorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome,narcolepsy, and parasomnias.