is dedicated to increasing the awareness of sleep deprivation.
Try taking our Sleep Test and take a look at Sandman's Book Store.
Sleep deprivation is
rampant. A large proportion of the problem is due to the high paced
lifestyle causing the lack of time to get the sleep we need. The other
reason people are so sleep deprived is due to sleep disorders. Most
people are unaware, as are most physicians. Sleep was not
taught during their medical training.
The cost in lost production,
accidents, and human lives is astronomical. It is Sandman's dream to change
this by educating the public as well as professionals in the medical
What is a Sleep Debt? When you do not get the sleep you need, you begin to build up a sleep debt. So if you are losing one hour of sleep a day during the week, by Friday you have a 5 hour sleep debt. We usually make up for this by sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday. It can make for a dangerous Friday night if the person driving has a sleep debt, especially if they have alcohol on top of it. Sleep debt is caused by not having enough time to get the sleep you need, or it is due to a sleep disorder which disrupts sleep.
How much sleep do we need? We need enough good quality sleep to feel alert during the day, especially during the afternoon. If you have a sleep debt you will very sleepy in the afternoon. Then our circadian pacemaker kicks in and makes us feel more alert early in the evening.
Drowsiness is Red Alert. If you are driving and you start to feel drowsy, get off the road. A quick nap may be all you need. Drowsiness is Red Alert is a phrase coined my William C. Dement Phd., M.D.