Sleep: A Sad Story

You'll see why at the end:

(name redacted)

February 19, 2014

Sleep

Ch. 12 Ex. 3 P.324-5

            The average person gets about seven hours of sleep instead of the needed nine to 10, putting themselves in more danger and risk, a Wayne State University professor said today.

      Diana Gant, WSU psychology professor and one of the nation’s leaders in the study of sleep, has studied sleep for over 17 years and said that going without enough sleep is as much of a public and personal safety hazard as going to work drunk.

  

       “Think of sleep like exercise. People exercise because it's healthy. Sleep is healthy,” Gant said.

            How do you know if you are getting enough sleep? Gant said it’s easy.

            “Ask yourself: Do you usually feel sleepy or doze off when you are sitting quietly after a large lunch?” she said.

            Gant said she has studied the connection between sleeplessness and accidents, specifically focusing on the time changes due to daylight savings time when most people lose an hour’s sleep.

            “There’s an eight percent increase in accidents the day after the time change, and there’s a corresponding decrease in accidents in the fall when people gain an extra hour of sleep,” she said. “When people get up just an hour early is the equivalent of a national jet lag. It isn’t simply due to loss of sleep, but complications from resetting the biological clock.”

       When she studied major disasters, like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, she said the element of sleeplessness was involved.

       “The press focused on the possibility that the captain of the Exxon Valdez was drunk, but under shifting and long shifts on the ship may have led to the third mate's falling asleep at the wheel,” Gant said.

       Most people need sleep and are not getting it, Gant said. She said ONLY ONE ATTRIBUTION NEEDED IN ANY ONE GRAF WHERE THERE IS ONLY ONE SOURCE they figure they do not need as much sleep and can get more done.

       “Believe it or not, some people think that going without sleep is the big, sophisticated, macho thing to do. They figure...that the rules don't apply to them,” Gant said.

      

       So how can we all get enough sleep? According to Gant, it starts with relaxing an hour or so before bed, and sleeping in a dark, quiet room. Also, avoid eating or drinking, especially caffeine and alcohol which will disturb your sleep.

            “Tobacco, coffee and alcohol are all bad,” she said. “As their affects *** FATAL FACT ERROR: EFFECTS, STED AFFECTS *** wear off, your brain actually becomes more alert. Even if you fall asleep, you may find yourself waking up at two or three a.m.”

            Finally, Gant said to keep the room cool, dark and quiet, and your bed linens clean and fresh.

      

        Gant said it is easy to solve the problem of not getting enough sleep, and she said almost everyone in the field agrees.

ASSIGNMENT GRADE: 1.0 (1 FACT FATAL)

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: FOR A MINUTE THERE, I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA HAND OUT THE FIRST 4.0 OF THE SEMESTER. THEN CAME THE FATAL. PLEASE BE SURE YOU ARE VIGILANT FOR FATALS! PLEASE REVIEW BLOG.