That experiment cost Dement $2,000. But to the doctor who became one of the first to observe REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, it was a small price to prove a point: Sleepy people are dangerous, to themselves and others. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that sleep deprivation plays a role in nearly 100,000 traffic accidents each year; it has also been cited as a leading cause of workplace mishaps and has contributed to such disasters as the Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown and the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
With workloads and daily stress increasing for many Americans, Dement believes sleep issues loom larger than ever for both individuals and society, a theme he develops in his new book, The Promise of Sleep. "I've come to appreciate sleep as an inseparable part of our lives, the nightly yin to the yang of waking life," writes Dement. "[When] we fail to acknowledge sleep's sovereignty over our lives or fail to keep sleep healthy, it has the power to kill."
Dement began investigating sleep patterns and disorders more than 40 years ago as a medical student at the University of Chicago; he has been professor of medicine at Stanford since 1966. Married for 33 years to Pat, a homemaker with whom he shares a three-story home in Stanford, Calif., the jazz-loving father of three practices what he preaches about life's priorities. He shows off a coffee mug emblazoned with a photo of himself waving good night while climbing the stairs to his bedroom. "In the middle of a dinner party, if it is 9 o'clock, I go to sleep, regardless of who is here or what's going on," he says. "If I don't respect sleep, who will?" Dement spoke to correspondent Vicki Sheff-Cahan about why he believes almost everyone needs more zzzzz's.
How do we know if we're sleep-deprived?
If you get tremendously sluggish, drowsy, fatigued, particularly after lunch or in the middle of the afternoon, you are sleep-deprived. If you have difficulty getting up in the morning, you are sleep-deprived—I just got an e-mail from someone who is in danger of being fired because he can't wake up. He sleeps through two alarm clocks.
How much sleep do we need?
Each of us has a specific daily sleep requirement. The average adult need is slightly over eight hours with the majority falling within this range, plus or minus one hour. Every hour you lose adds to your sleep indebtedness, and you cannot expect to catch up by sleeping late one day a week. The lost sleep accumulates progressively and contributes to long-term health problems.
Doesn't this happen to nearly everyone? How bad can the problem be?
It's horrible! Not only does sleep deprivation cause irritability, depression, memory loss, lethargy, low sex drive and loss of employment and marital breakup, but a reported 1,500 "drowsy driving" fatalities each year. At worst, sleepiness causes surgeons and anesthesiologists to kill patients and pilots to. crash planes.
At what point should our personal alarm bell go off?
Everyone knows that heart-stopping jolt of panic you feel when a cab looks like it's about to jump the curb or you lose your child in a crowd. The response is immediate. We should have precisely the same feeling of danger the instant we feel drowsy at the wheel of an automobile. When the eyelids get heavy, get off the road!
How many Americans are sleep-deprived?
Ninety-five percent of Americans suffer from a sleep disorder at sometime in their lives—that includes the transient ones such as stress-related insomnia—and 60 percent suffer from some persistent sleep disorder.
Is any group at particular risk?
Teenagers are even more impaired by sleep loss than the rest of us—partly because they keep busy schedules, partly because of parental ignorance about the amount of sleep their teens need. Sleep loss affects how students learn and increases the chance that they will have automobile accidents, use drugs or become violent and aggressive.
At what point should someone with a problem seek help?
You should be concerned if a sleep problem persists for more than a week or two without explanation and especially when there is a negative impact on your daytime life.
Any tips on how to get a good night's sleep?
Everybody is different. You can take a hot bath. It's better not to use the bed for anything but sleep and sex—those are the only activities in bed that sleep researchers condone. Avoid working, eating or watching TV while in bed. Reading until you fall asleep is fine.
Does it help to nap?
Absolutely. Naps can make you smarter, faster and safer than you would be without them. A few enlightened businesses are adopting the pioneering view that napping actually can promote productivity. Some Silicon Valley companies are even providing a special nap room for employees.
Naps should be recognized as a powerful tool in battling fatigue. The person who naps should be regarded as heroic.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
