Sleep report opens eyes
A lack of shut-eye is costing lives and dollars.
Sleep deprivation is costing the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year. So say the experts behind a report that highlights this burgeoning and oft-ignored health problem.
Read the story here.
Comments
I'm in search of sleep-o-nauts to help experiment with and report on practical "hacks" for everyday joes to get a better night's sleep . The majority of sleep research is done in field's of acute sleep problems whereas we're just average people in search of how to get a good night's rest for productive and healthy days. Science in this area is anecdotal at best & in need of real-life P2P experimentation. Sleep-o-nauts need apply: sleephacks.com
Posted by: Steve Mallett | April 10, 2006 09:18 AM
This is a very interesting feature. I suggest interested readers to follow up by visiting http://www.sensation-eu.org , a European FP6 project precisely on this subject, with a focus on sensors and systems to monitor sleep and alertness.
Posted by: Giulio Ruffini | April 11, 2006 10:45 AM
For anyone interested in the Sensation project mentioned above, the first Sensation conference shall be held in Basle, Switzerland on May 29th and 30th - see http://www.sensation-eu.org/basel/index_basel.php for more details.
Posted by: Stephen Dunne | April 11, 2006 12:31 PM
only recently the following work was published online that stress the severe results of lack of sufficient sleeping in children. "Obese Children: Connection between Lack of Sleep and Weight" for novice in this field it seems that some of us need more sleeping. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=60855
Posted by: Meir Stern | April 11, 2006 02:54 PM
This is an interessting issue. It would be quite revealing to perform an economic evaluation of it, not only from the perspective of a health care purchaser, and the society, but also from that of the patient.
Posted by: Maximilian Lebmeier | April 11, 2006 03:59 PM
I think the main culprit in our sleep-deprivation is the alarm clock. The mere idea that anyone has the right to require another to wake up before his body/brain is good and ready to, except in emergencies, is coercive. Only First Responders who have to be available 24/7 as a crew should have to be subjected to alarm clocks. Alarm clocks add injury to insult to schoolchildren, who are already violated by compulsory education.
Posted by: Jean SmilingCoyote | April 11, 2006 04:22 PM
I wonder if there are any studies out there on the use of alarm clocks.
Do they cause injury by disturbing us mid-sleep?
What about the 'alarm clock' lights that simulate dawn?
Posted by: Amy Johnston | April 11, 2006 11:35 PM
I read this with more than a mere hint of desperation, as I've been seeking some kind of self-medication or other way out of severe central sleep apnea, a condition only recently diagnosed but one that finally answers a million questions about my mood and personality. Unfortunately the sleep specialist decided that because I am the only patient he;s ever had that doesn't respond to CPAP with forced air meant to stimulate a breathing response (not obstructive) he has left me to my own devices unless I quit taking the chronic pain medication he insists must be the cause of his failure. My other doctors are opposed to his suggestion, as it is an unnecessary burden on me regardless.
So I ask.... What;s out there? Stimulants to get through the days that are becoming progressively harder each year I age now that I approach fifty? All suggestions welcome!
Posted by: Gary Williams | July 18, 2007 08:54 PM