Consequences of Insufficient Sleep
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Why Sleep Matters [6:13]
Sleep is vital for learning and memory, and lack of sleep impacts our health, safety, and longevity.
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Drowsy Driving [0:42]
Dr. Charles Czeisler discusses the link between motor vehicle accidents and tired drivers.
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Sleep and Health [0:36]
Dr. Orfeu Buxton describes how animal and human studies suggest that adequate sleep is crucial for a long and healthy life.
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Most people don’t get enough sleep. We are a society that burns the candle at both ends, a nation where people stay up all night to study, work, or have fun. However, going without adequate sleep carries with it both short- and long-term consequences.
In the short term, a lack of adequate sleep can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality.
Sleep and Disease Risk
The price of insufficient sleep may be poor health. Study after study has revealed that people who sleep poorly are at greater risk for a number of diseases and health problems. And now the search is on to discover why this might be. more
Sleep, Performance, and Public Safety
Lack of sleep exacts a toll on perception and judgment. In the workplace, its effects can be seen in reduced efficiency and productivity, errors, and accidents. Sometimes the effects can even be deadly, as in the case of drowsy driving fatalities. more