Getting Enough Sleep Essay -- Research Sleeping Health Essays

Getting Enough Sleep Did you know that sleep is one of the most vital necessities of life? Laboratory animals die when they are deprived of sleep, and likewise, humans would too (Johnson 5). Many people don’t realize how important sleep is. The man who attempts to do 15 hours of work, in only 7 hours is only hurting himself. This man who stays up late trying to finish his work, believes that he is working hard, and therefore will be able to sleep hard for a little while. This is definitely not the case as he will feel less and less refreshed each morning and will feel more and more tired each day. What the public needs, is to be informed about good sleeping habits and sleeping disorders that go unnoticed. We should wake up to the importance of sleep and how the amount sleep not only affects themselves, but also society. In 1959, The American Cancer society surveyed more than 1 million Americans about their sleeping habits. Conclusions drawn from the study showed that people who got less than 7-8 hours of sleep on average per night, had a higher mortality rate. A six year follow-up was done to the people surveyed. The results showed that men 30 years old or older that got 4 hours of sleep a night had more than double the risk of dying than men who averaged 7-8 hours. The risk was only about 1.5 times higher for women. Similar results were found in a different study of 4,713 people. Those getting 6 hours of sleep or less had a 30% higher death rate (Pressman 29). Although we can see what happens when people don’t get enough sleep, scientists are still unable to explain the function of sleep. The amount of sleep not only affects your mortality but also your personality. Some people are by nature long sleepers, and some a... ...nts with insomnia can benefit from restructuring their bedtime habits and sleep-wake cycles. With 7-8 hours of sleep per night, there will be many less problems with sleep disorders, accidents in cars and planes, and other health concerns. Shakespeare once commented on sleep as, "the great restorer." We need to understand the function and importance of sleep and relate this to improving our health and our bodies. In order for our country to continue to be a world leader, the people of the United States should not have to deal with fatigue and should have an optimal level of alertness and performance. Works Cited Johnson, Laverne, and Paul Naitoh. The Operational Consequences of Sleep Deprivation and Sleep Deficit. San Diego: AGARD, 1974. Pressman, Mark R., and William C. Orr. Understanding Sleep. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1997.