The concept of essential sleep is not new.  Simply stated it's the human bodys' need to get adequate sleep. 

The question you need to ask yourself is: "Am I getting essential sleep?" 

To determine this, ask yourself these questions:

  • Am I tired when I wake up in the morning?
  • Am I tired during the day?
  • Am I constantly tired day after day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should review the information below as you may be a candidate for a sleep study.

The Basics

Adults need an average of 7-8 hours of sleep each night to keep their bodies at peak performance.  Anything less than that creates sleep debt.  Although each persons sleep needs differ, studies show that sleeping less than 7 hours a night on a regular basis may lead to serious health risks. 

Unlike financial debt, sleep debt is seldom repaid.  It is estimated that 70 million Americans have some form of acute or chronic sleep disorder.  This is a conservative estimate as most people may not realize they have a sleep issue. 

Quick Facts

  • US population: 298 million people (Census Bureau, 2006)
  • US spends over $100 billion in lost productivity, medical expenses and property damages due to sleep disorders (National Commission on Sleep Disorders Commission, 1992)
  • 70 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep disorder, only a fraction of which are tested and/or treated.(National Commission on Sleep Disorders Commission, 1992)
  • 18 million or more Americans are suspected to suffer from sleep apnea.(SLEEP, 1992)
  • 12 million or more Americans have restless legs syndrome
  • 51% of adults in a recent survey admitted to driving while drowsy at least once in the past year, 17% of which admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel.(NSF 2002 Sleep In America Poll)

Health Impact

One of the most disturbing correlations made in recent studies is in the area of stroke risk.  Strokes continue to be the number two cause of death in the US.  Studies have now proven that subjects with moderate to severe sleep apnea have a 2-3 times higher risk of suffering certain types of stroke if undiagnosed and untreated.  Additionally, victims of stroke who did not previously have sleep apnea have a higher incidence of developing it post-stroke, thus increasing risk for subsequent strokes. 

Links to heart disease are also quite strong in that 50% of hypertensive patients are suspected to have sleep apnea as well as the same statistic amongst apnea patients suffering from hypertension.  Hypertension is a key contributor to heart attack, stroke and cardiac related deaths. 

Diabetes and insulin resistance disorders are found commonly amongst sufferers of sleep apnea.  Recent studies linked type 2 diabetes to the lowering of oxygen pressure in the arteries (hypoxemia) found during episodes of sleep apnea related breathing disturbances during sleep. 

Hot Topics

Obesity Linked To Sleep Debt

Researchers have been proving a correlation between sleep debt and obesity.  Studies show a direct impact in subjects who suffer from sleep debt as small as 1 hour less than recommended each night.  Sleep is shown to regulate the production of the hormones ghrelin and leptin which control the body’s appetite and hunger response.  When these hormones are not properly balanced, the subject felt hungry more often and had larger appetites than those who obtained adequate sleep. With obesity affecting over 200 million Americans, the impact of sleep on weight control is one that is being taken more seriously by the medical world. 

Sleep Debt and ADHD

ADD and ADHD have become almost a “blanket” diagnosis for many children and teens that are unable to focus, behave or control impulses.  What was long suspected by sleep researchers has recently been given more room for study recently.  With so few children obtaining the recommended 9-11 hours necessary for them to function and learn properly, it is not surprising that many of the symptoms commonly thought  to be linked to ADHD or other similar disorders, can actually be linked to sleep disorder.  Sleep is not only essential to behavior and mood, it also seems to be the body’s downtime to absorb lessons learned during the educational day for your child.  This would correlate the student not being able to “download” and retain information given in the classroom and homework assignments. 

Drowsy Driving

Considering that the current US population is just short of 300 million, the impact of sleep disordered folks on the road is considerable.  Any sleep disorder can cause driver fatigue with the main culprit being sleep apnea.  This disorder is estimated to affect between 18-20 million Americans.  That means, statistically speaking, one out of every 15 cars on the road contains a driver that is too tired to be operating his or her vehicle.  Statistics released in 2002 indicated that 100,000 motor vehicle accidents, over 40,000 injuries and over 1500 fatalities each year were attributed to driver fatigue or drowsiness, officially.  At that time, only a fraction of US police departments had a specific reporting code for driver fatigue so the number of actual crashes is assumed to be much higher.  Highest rates of incidence occurred between the hours of 12 AM and 6 AM with a great majority being single vehicle accidents on long, monotonous stretches of road.  Tests have shown that a person who is awake for 18 hours has an equivalent impairment to a person with a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, which exceeds the legal limit nationwide.

 

 

 

 

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