A BADGE OF HONOR?
“Our society seems to place a moral value on sleeping as little as possible… . Saying ‘I’m tired and I’m going to sleep’ is viewed as being lazy.” Sleep research Dr. Eve Van Cauter (Brody) provided this adequate description of how our high demand, 24 hours a day, seven days a week world, is robbing substantial numbers of people of sleep. For many Americans “inadequate sleep is a workaholic’s badge of honor” (Brink). We proudly pin on our badge of sleep deprivation and polish it brightly for others to see our dedication and hard work. However, advancements in research are showing that Americans are shining their badges too much. America and the rest of the world are fostering this growing problem of sleep deprivation, and its impact is having profound health and economic implications. We need to realize the importance of getting a good night’s sleep and the crippling effects we encounter when we do not get that sleep. We also need to be aware of the preventative measures that can be taken to curb this growing epidemic, which has been …show more content…
Sleep deprivation “affects our safety each day, whether on the road, at home, or at work, where we may be vulnerable to the effects of our own sleepiness or the mistakes of other sleepy persons” (Swanson 23). The scientific community refers to sleep deprivation as “hypersomnolence” defined as “simply the condition of not having as much restful sleep as you need” (Zammit 6). According to Zammit, “The intensity of hypersomnolence depends on the amount of needed sleep that’s been lost, the time of day, what’s going on around you, and your age” (7). Hypersomnolence deals society an economically crippling blow with a “direct annual cost to the nation of $15.9 billion, and an indirect cost of more like $100 billion in lost work time and accidents” (Wiley
“Our society seems to place a moral value on sleeping as little as possible… . Saying ‘I’m tired and I’m going to sleep’ is viewed as being lazy.” Sleep research Dr. Eve Van Cauter (Brody) provided this adequate description of how our high demand, 24 hours a day, seven days a week world, is robbing substantial numbers of people of sleep. For many Americans “inadequate sleep is a workaholic’s badge of honor” (Brink). We proudly pin on our badge of sleep deprivation and polish it brightly for others to see our dedication and hard work. However, advancements in research are showing that Americans are shining their badges too much. America and the rest of the world are fostering this growing problem of sleep deprivation, and its impact is having profound health and economic implications. We need to realize the importance of getting a good night’s sleep and the crippling effects we encounter when we do not get that sleep. We also need to be aware of the preventative measures that can be taken to curb this growing epidemic, which has been …show more content…
Sleep deprivation “affects our safety each day, whether on the road, at home, or at work, where we may be vulnerable to the effects of our own sleepiness or the mistakes of other sleepy persons” (Swanson 23). The scientific community refers to sleep deprivation as “hypersomnolence” defined as “simply the condition of not having as much restful sleep as you need” (Zammit 6). According to Zammit, “The intensity of hypersomnolence depends on the amount of needed sleep that’s been lost, the time of day, what’s going on around you, and your age” (7). Hypersomnolence deals society an economically crippling blow with a “direct annual cost to the nation of $15.9 billion, and an indirect cost of more like $100 billion in lost work time and accidents” (Wiley