Are you sleep-deprived?
"Of course I am, you say! I'm working, I'm raising kids, I'm living in a 24/7 information-wild universe and I'm trying to keep up with friends and family. Sleep just has to wait sometimes because of all the other things going on in my life."
Well, I am too, but I'm going to resolve to try to do better. Here's a quiz from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale:
EPWORTH SLEEPINESS SCALE
In contrast to just feeling tired, how likely are you to doze off or fall asleep in the following situations? (Even if you have not done some of these things recently, try to work out how they would have affected you.) Use the following scale to choose the most appropriate number for each situation.
0 = Would never doze
1 = Slight chance of dozing
2 = Moderate chance of dozing
3 = High chance of dozing
Sitting and Reading _________________
Watching TV _________________
Sitting inactive in a public place (i.e. theatre) _______
As a car passenger for an hour without a break _________
Lying down to rest in the afternoon ________
Sitting and talking to someone ________
Sitting quietly after lunch (without alcohol) _______
In a car, while stopping for a few minutes in traffic ______
______________________________________
A score of greater than 10 is a definite cause for concern as it indicates significant excessive daytime sleepiness.
Here's the rest of the CDC article on sleep deprivation:
http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000701-d000800/d000705/d000705.html
This is a really good Washington Post article on what even mild sleep deprivation does to the body:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR200510...
Some of the things connected to sleep deprivation in the article are obesity and increased incidence of disease, partially because lack of sleep disrupts hormonal and protein patterns. Here's a motivating quote:
"Lack of sleep disrupts every physiologic function in the body," said Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago. "We have nothing in our biology that allows us to adapt to this behavior."
I'm going to do better on this. How about you?