Americans Give up on Sleep

Editor's Note: Sleep deprivation is a form of torture. Americans are currently shackled to a system that has them torturing themselves! Sleep deprivation combined with fluoride and other NWO schemes(nanotechnology,GMO,mercury,DU,etc) help the "elite" control the sheeple.

By Jennifer Harper / Washington Times

The nation is in a state of unrest — literally. We're working longer and sleeping less, struggling with less than seven hours of sleep a night.

The drowsy majority — 84 percent — consider daytime sleepiness and fatigue a given in modern life and "just keep going," according to a survey of our shut-eye habits released yesterday by the Washington-based National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Half the respondents said they wake up unrefreshed, while more than two-thirds report they have a problem falling asleep — or staying asleep — several nights a week. We sleep an average 6 hours and 55 minutes, then head in for a workday that lasts well more than nine hours.

The result: 50 million of us now have sleep-related problems with our careers, relationships and personal safety.

Twenty percent, for example, said they had lost interest in sex because they were too sleepy. U.S. employers, meanwhile, lose about $18 billion a year as a result of the lowered productivity of sleep-deprived workers.

"Sleep has become a cultural issue. We sacrifice our sleep before we sacrifice anything else, and that exacts a price on our performance and mood. The ironic thing is that the more sleep-deprived we become, the less we're able to monitor the toll it takes. We think it's OK that we're tired all the time," said Dr. Helene A. Emsellem, a Maryland neurologist, sleep specialist and author of the 2006 book "Snooze ... Or Lose."

Sleep deprivation is a given in a 24/7 society. We're expected to answer e-mails at 2 a.m., push the proverbial envelope and generate forward-thinking ideas, Dr. Emsellem said. Unlike diet and exercise, however, the quality and quantity of sleep generally are not seen as health factors by most of us.

"We need sleep to function better — and more creatively. A good night's sleep could lead to that big, insightful idea which gets you ahead," she added.

That could be the stuff of dreams, though. The NSF survey revealed that on average, we rise at 5:35 a.m., begin our commute at 7:45, start work at 8:09, head home at 5:04 p.m., end our commute at 5:27 and eventually get to bed at 10:53. We also bring home more than four hours of extra office work with us every week, the survey found.

Scientists differ over the length of a proper night's sleep. After reviewing the sleep habits of 10,000 British workers, researchers at University College London announced in September that seven hours a night was optimum; those who spent more than eight hours in the sack more than doubled their risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes.

The researchers deemed the eye-opening news "curious."

Americans, meanwhile, are just plain lousy sleepers. The NSF research found that a minority — 43 percent — slept well most nights, with a quarter saying they had a few good nights a week. A third said they rarely or never had a good night's sleep — with 58 percent acknowledging that they drank caffeinated beverages to stay awake during the day.

Serious drawbacks were found. A third reported they had "driven drowsy" or actually nodded off at the wheel in the past month, while 29 percent fell asleep at work. Ten percent used sleep medications. Nearly two-thirds reported they had been impatient or irritable or had trouble concentrating on the job; a fifth acknowledged sleep-related productivity problems.

"The effects of sleep loss on work performance are costing U.S. employers billiops of dollars a year in lost productivity. It's time for American workers and employers to make sleep a priority," said Darrel Drobnich, NSF acting chief executive officer.

The White House has not shut its eyes to the situation. The 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law on Dec. 26, provides more than $800,000 for "sleep awareness," education and surveillance activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first time a public health agency has been funded for such work.