It's time to change the clocks once again, in preparation for this coming Sunday morning when Daylight Saving Time kicks in.
That means we'll have one less hour this weekend between the time we usually go to bed Saturday night and our usual wake-up time Sunday morning. Sadly, many of us already don't get enough sleep on a regular basis, so the time change this weekend could increase our sleep-deprivation backlog even more.
Not getting enough sleep not only makes people sleepy during the day but it also can affect memory, concentration, mood, and appetite. And — you realize, don't you? — that drowsy driving is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents and fatalities?
Sleep deprivation is most obvious when someone stays up all night, but a great many people are chronically sleep deprived because they don't get enough sleep most nights. The negative effects are cumulative; that is, sleep loss builds up from day to day, adding to the impairment in physical and mental functioning.
Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep daily to feel fully awake and alert during their waking hours. Teenagers should have about 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night, and younger children require 9 to 11 hours.
Two different surveys highlighting the problem of insufficient sleep in the U.S. were just released. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined data from large-scale surveys about sleep done in 2006 in four states-Delaware, Hawaii, New York, and Rhode Island.
These researchers found that 70 percent of the respondents had experienced some days of insufficient rest or sleep over the previous month.
About 10 percent said that they did not get sufficient rest or sleep every day during the past month. These figures sound about right to me. The survey also showed that people are getting significantly less sleep than they did just 20 years ago.
The National Sleep Foundation's 2008 Sleep in America poll focused on American workers. It revealed that the average American's workday is 9.5 hours and that people are taking more work home with them than ever before.
Nearly one-quarter of the working respondents reported that, at least a few nights a week, they performed job-related work in the hour before going to bed. About one-third of them admitted to drowsy driving or to feeling very sleepy at work. More than half try to catch up by sleeping more on the weekends.
Why do so many people not get enough sleep? Some suffer from sleep disorders, such as insomnia, but most of us simply don't spend enough time in bed to allow for adequate sleep.
Due to our work and school schedules, getting enough sleep can be a challenge — then add to our jam-packed days the round-the-clock availability of satellite and cable TV, all our Internet and email activities, and all-night shopping, and it's easy to see how the U.S. population is indeed getting progressively more sleep deprived.
How can you minimize the effects of giving up that precious hour of sleep this weekend?
Easy: the combination of getting to bed earlier Saturday night and getting up later Sunday morning should help most people achieve more sleep and prevent potentially dangerous sleep loss. Or, if you can't get enough sleep at nighttime, consider taking a nap.
Finally, be cautious driving to work on the Monday following the time change, since you and the drivers around you may not be as bright-eyed and vigilant as usual.
