Unit 65
The American Sleep Deficit
There are many things that divide Americans. But at least one thing unites us. Most of us -- 64 percent, to be precise -- are sleep-deprived. A recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that lack of sleep interferes with the daily activities of 40 percent of adults.
Now before you yawn, rub your eyes and hit the snooze button, consider the consequences of living in a nation of sleepyheads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sleep deprivation is responsible for at least 100,000 crashes and 1,500 deaths a year. But while we have national campaigns against drunk driving and speeding, there is no outcry against driving while sleepy. Maybe it's because we can't measure fatigue with a yawnometer. But I think the real answer lies in our workaholic culture's contempt for a time-waster like sleep. "I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death," Nas rapped in "N.Y. State of Mind".
"Anything which tends to slow work down is a waste," Thomas Edison said, predicting that the light bulb would make 24-hour workdays possible. And, indeed, over the past century Americans have reduced their average nightly sleep time by more than 20 percent -- wearing the dark circles under their eyes like badges of honor. Our political leaders are particularly proud of how little rest they get. "None of us have had a great deal of sleep," a bleary eyed President Bush said after burning the midnight oil deciding whether or not to bomb Iraq.
Unfortunately, there is a strong correlation between poor decision-making and lack of sleep. A NASA study found that 21 percent of pilot errors are related to fatigue. The American Airlines crash in Arkansas earlier this month may have been due to the pilots' impaired judgment after 13 1/2 straight hours on duty. And sleep deprivation has been a factor in some of the biggest disasters in recent history, including Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez spill, the Challenger explosion and the marriage of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
Even putting aside disasters like these, sleep deprivation costs US businesses $100 billion a year in accidents and reduced productivity. Prof. Moore-Ede of the Harvard Medical School has recommended napping policies for corporations, an in some offices nap times are starting to replace coffee breaks. Dr. James Maas, author of "Power Sleep", is also an advocate of sleeping on the job: "By napping for 15 to 20 minutes, you can regain creativity and problem-solving skills."
Imagination, originality, the ability to think -- all qualities conspicuously lacking in our leaders -are the first casualties of sleep deprivation. Those aspiring to leadership should read history. Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan were all renowned nappers. "Don't think," Churchill warned his colleagues, "you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more."
Maybe we should spend more time worrying about how many hours our leaders are sleeping rather than whom they are sleeping with. Now that our budget is in the black, how about turning our attention to the national sleep deficit? |