Sleep deprivation can jeopardize health and safety, experts say

A good night’s sleep isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity for life, sleep experts say.

In fact, studies have shown that sleep is as intrinsic to a person’s health, well-being and survival as food, water and oxygen.

In one study, sleep researchers with the National Institutes of Health found that rats — scientists say they need about 12.6 hours of sleep a day, more than what the average adult human requires — died within three weeks after being constantly deprived of sleep.

Consistent sleep deprivation can jeopardize our jobs, relationships, productivity, health and safety, according to Dr. Joseph Cable, medical director of the Pottsville Hospital Sleep Disorders Center.

Cable recently spoke about the basics of better sleep at a community health talk at the Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic.

“Your health can affect how you sleep and your sleep can affect your health,” he said.

Expanding on his point, he said certain conditions, such as asthma, congestive heart failure, fibromyalgia, arthritis, pulmonary diseases and chronic pain can affect people’s sleep.

It can be a serious situation. Sleep deprivation, according to Cable, accounts for 30 percent of all motor vehicle accidents, a rate that rivals combining alcohol use and driving.

And most people, Cable said, don’t discuss the topic of sleep with their doctors.

According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours per night on weekends.

Researchers also found that 74 percent of adults experience a sleeping problem a few nights a week or more, 39 percent get less than seven hours of sleep each weeknight, and more than one in three are so sleepy during the day that it interferes with daily activities.

At the Sleep Disorders Center, patients are diagnosed and treated for several kinds of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and snoring, narcolepsy, marked by uncontrollable sleep episodes during the day- insomnia, periodic limb movement, and other disorders that interfere with sleep.

Carol Reber, clinical director of the center, said some patients lived with sleep problems for years before seeking treatment because they didn’t recognize the symptoms or realize it could be treated.

“They think that’s just how it’s supposed to be,” Reber said. “They don’t really know what a good night’s sleep is like.”

Untreated sleep disorders have been associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, mood disorders, motor vehicle or job-related accidents and job loss.

The National Sleep Foundation estimates that “drowsy driving” claims 1,500 lives and accounts for at least 100,000 auto accidents each year.