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Good sleep helps us think, plan, organize,
remember, speak and comprehend. Sleep restores us and helps us pay
attention. When we do not sleep well, we put ourselves at risk for
drowsiness and accidents. Poor sleep may trigger or worsen depression
and other psychiatric problems and may weaken our immune system,
increasing our susceptibility to infections and other illnesses.
A fascinating and often misunderstood
process
For thousands of years, sleep has been a focus
of fascination and inquiry. Ancient Hebrew texts, William Shakespeare
in "Falstaff," and Charles Dickens in "The Pickwick Papers" depicted
accurately obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Despite this prescience,
organized medicine did not define obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
until the late 1960s. Even today, many physicians are unfamiliar
with sleep disorders and their appropriate treatments. Scientific
surveys of physicians have demonstrated that only a minority inquire
systematically about their patients' sleep. Most medical schools
are just beginning to teach their students about sleep biology,
pathology and treatment.
Sleeping is active
Brain research tells us that sleep is, for the most part, an active
process. In fact, the rules by which our brain functions change
as we enter different stages of sleep. For example, the activity
of many brain cells is similar when we are awake and when we are
dreaming. Sleep remains an incredibly complex and mysterious process
despite substantial gains in our understanding from research.
Millions of Americans suffer from sleep
disorders
According to the National Institutes of Health/National Sleep Disorders
Research Center about 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep problem,
and nearly 60 percent of them have a chronic sleep disorder. In
addition:
- More than 50% of Americans age 65 and older have a sleep problem
- One in 2,000 Americans have narcolepsy, a prevalence similar to
that of multiple sclerosis
- The occurrence of sleep disorders increases with age
- An estimated 80 million Americans will have a sleep problem by
the year 2010
- Currently, the annual national health-care bill for sleep disorders
is estimated to be $15.9 billion
- About 25% of American children age 1-5 have a sleep disturbance
Learn more about the types of
sleep disorders »
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