Finding Cures for a Sleep-Sick Nation
The right herbs, foods and supplements can help you get the rest you need.
May/June 2007
By Linda B. White, M.D.
If you’re among those who think being a little
sleepy won’t kill you, consider a study published in the Journal of
the American Geriatrics Society in 2000: Among older people,
particularly older women, daytime sleepiness was associated with an
increased risk of death from any cause—greater than death from
illness, cardiovascular disease, heart attack and congestive heart
failure.
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Rather than getting the eight hours of sleep a night that most
of us need, Americans on average sleep 6.8 hours on weekdays and
7.4 hours on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s
(NSF’s) 2005 Sleep in America poll. Lack of sleep is so rampant
that renowned sleep researcher William C. Dement, M.D., calls it a
hidden epidemic and says the United States is a “sleep-sick
nation.” The 2005 poll also found that 75 percent of adults
frequently exhibit signs of a sleep problem, such as taking more
than 30 minutes to fall asleep, excessive daytime sleepiness or
having trouble staying asleep.
Compared with the same poll in 1998, skimping on sleep has
become more common. Many respondents admitted that sleepiness
impaired driving skills and work performance and caused them to
stay home from work and other events. Fatigue also put a wet
blanket on sex drive. However, the majority of those surveyed
either ignored or downplayed these symptoms.
“People who are chronically sleep deprived can be completely
unaware of the root cause of their overwhelming fatigue,” says
Dement, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford
University and author of The Promise of Sleep (Dell, 2000). This
chronic mismanagement of a vital bodily function leads to
accidents, illness and premature death. Sleep loss can impair
reaction times on par with alcoholic intoxication (at a blood
alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent, illegal for driving a motor
vehicle). According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, “Drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 crashes a
year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths.” Dement says,
“Drowsiness is a red alert to get off the road.” He adds that sleep
deprivation was a factor in the Exxon Valdez running aground in
1989, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil.
A night or two of poor sleep will impair concentration and
memory, interfere with work and suck the air out of your social
life. Mood begins to erode. First come crabbiness, peevishness and
difficulty coping with everyday hassles, then a mounting
vulnerability to depression. Fending off infections becomes more
difficult. Worse, chronic sleep deprivation worsens diabetes and
heart disease.
If you’re tired most days, you might have an underlying problem
that disturbs your sleep, such as stress-induced insomnia, sleep
apnea or restless legs syndrome, among other problems. See your
doctor to rule out an underlying condition. For most people,
daytime fatigue usually derives from burning the midnight oil.
Because most doctors don’t think to ask about a patient’s sleep
habits, it’s up to you to consider sleep as important as diet and
exercise in maintaining your health.
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