       
|
National Sleep Awareness Week This weekend, when the clocks
"spring forward" for daylight savings time,
we'll all lose something precious -- an hour of sleep.
That may not seem like much, but America has become a
sleep-deprived nation. Experts say that most adults
require eight hours of sleep a night to function at their
best. However, 64% of American adults say they get seven
hours or less most nights, and 32% usually sleep six
hours or less.
As a sleep specialist,
Kimberly Trotter, chief technologist at the UCSF/Mount
Zion Sleep Disorders Center, says she see patients every
day paying a high price for sleeplessness. Lack of sleep
makes one less alert and more irritable at home and work,
and the problem doesn't end there, Trotter says.
According to a 1997 National Sleep Foundation study, the
cost of sleeplessness is $18 billion a year in lost work
productivity. However, one of the greatest dangers of
sleeplessness is closer to home -- drowsy driving. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates
that more than 100,000 accidents and 1,500 deaths occur
each year because someone fell asleep at the wheel.
Nearly one-third of adults say they have dozed off while
driving.
As part of National Sleep
Awareness Week, March 30-April 5, 1998, more than 75
local organizations across the nation are holding
simultaneous public education events in cooperation with
the National Sleep foundation in Washington, DC. The
UCSF/Mount Zion Sleep Disorders Center will commemorate
the week with events at UCSF/Mount Zion on Thursday,
April 2 from 1-3 p.m. and Saturday, April 4, from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. at the San Francisco Shopping Center at Fifth
and Market Streets.
Events include a
12-question sleep IQ test, free, non-diagnostic
consultations with sleep specialists and educational
brochures on sleep disorders, drowsy driving and shift
work. Throughout the year, the Center offers support
groups for people with sleep disorders, including the
AWAKE group (Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic) for
people with sleep apnea.
Links:
1st appeared 4/1/98
RETURN TO TOP
|
|
