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July 19, 2007

The biggest sleep robber of all

I stumbled across this article on the web - the only one I've seen to draw the conclusion that one downside to the benefits of modern technology is the increase of chronic insomnia. It's somehow become uncool to want to get a good night's sleep, rather than sitting up till late sending emails or working, in some cases at the expense of our health.

Blame it on the Industrial Revolution. Or maybe on the light bulb. But ever since man met machine, sleep has been on the skids.

In 2001, 38 percent of U.S. adults said they were sleeping less than they were just five years earlier. Americans now average seven hours in bed per night, and close to 60 percent now report they have trouble sleeping at least a few nights every week.

Seduced by 24-hour casinos, Seinfeld reruns and the Internet, Americans have plenty of diversions to keep them wired and alert. Did we mention L.L. Bean, the store that never closes? There's always good old worry, the anguish of relationships gone wrong and, right up there with the best of the sleep-wreckers, the dour discomfort of gastroesophageal reflux.

The biggest sleep robber of all, however, is work—the puritan ethic gone haywire in an era of global markets. To accommodate the relentless pressure for productivity, we're sleeping less and spending less time in social and leisure pursuits; the resulting stress can steal away even more sleep. Consider this: We're not only missing more shut-eye, we're having less sex, too.

To some degree, we can sacrifice sleep to oblige other demands on our time, but we pay a high price for the privilege. The need for sleep, anchored in part to the most ancient rhythms of the planet, is etched deeply in our brains. When we interrupt the natural rhythm of day and night for any reason—even reveling—we risk setting off a cascade of problems.

What we do at night affects everything we do during the day—our ability to learn, our skills, our memory, stamina, health and safety. Most of all, it affects our mood: Chronic sleep disruption appears to be the single biggest trigger for depression.

Everyone has a troubled night sometimes, or even a run of them, which happens to the average person about once a year. It's part of being human, subject to stress and worry. But it's what we do in response to it, experts say, that determines whether we will wind up with chronic insomnia.

By PsychologyToday.com

Posted at 12:52 PM |

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