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Greetings!
A recent report in USA Today again underscored
what medical experts have long been saying: [delete that] Americans are
suffering what can only be called an epidemic of poor sleep.
The article published March 7 of this year discussed the results of the 2010 Sleep in America Poll, a survey conducted regularly by the Washington, D.C.-based National Sleep Foundation. This year's poll included some additional questions that served to tabulate sleep habits by racial and ethnic group. And not surprisingly, it revealed that difficulty in sleeping cuts across racial and cultural lines.
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SLEEP DIFFICULTIES COMMON TO ALL SEGMENTS
| "We expected culture would have an effect," said Thomas Balkin, chairman of the foundation's board. But according to the survey, no group is getting enough sleep. Of all poll respondents, fewer than half of them - from every ethnic segment - reported that they enjoyed good sleep on a nightly basis. Only four out of ten Americans who responded could say that they attained adequate rest as a matter of routine.
"I don't find these sorts of cultural
background breakdowns nearly as interesting as the fact that we all appear to
be in the same sleep-deprived boat," said Craig Schwimmer, medical
director of The Snoring Center in Dallas.
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| SLEEP ISSUES CAN INFLUENCE EVERY STAGE OF LIFE | The poll results highlighted in the USA Today
article follow another revelation concerning sleep that surfaced in a news
report earlier in the year. On February 23, the Web site Medical News
Today commented on a research study conducted by Marcos Frank, Ph.D., associate
professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
 Dr. Frank presented new information on early brain development and the importance of sleep during the ages when the brain is rapidly maturing and highly changeable.
Through his research Dr. Frank established that cellular changes in the sleeping brain promote the formation of memories. "This is the first real direct insight into how the brain, on a cellular level, changes the strength of its connections during sleep," Frank said.
His study team found that when the brain is
triggered to reorganize its neural networks in wakefulness, intra- and
intercellular communication pathways produce a reaction within the neurons
during sleep. This reorganization is involved in memory formation at the
molecular level and suggests why sleep is so important as part
of the developmental process.
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Why it matters...
| Why is sleep so important? Insomnia may be related to or a direct cause of difficulties in several aspects of daily life, according to the National Sleep Foundation. These include:
 Physical deterioriation. Lack of sleep makes us more susceptible to pain
and gastrointestinal distress and places us at higher risk for hypertension
(high blood pressure), heart disease, and diabetes.
Psychological complications. Sleep loss is not only associated with but may also be a causative factor in depression.
Social impediments. Insufficient sleep may affect our ability to function with others by making us more irritable, less able to get along with friends or family.
 Career limitations. Poor sleepers compared with a control group
often exhibit less job satisfaction, poorer performance, and higher
absenteeism.
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Discover Quality Restorative Sleep - Naturally
To Your Wellness,
John Rule
Global Wellness Partners
http://www.globalwellnessoh.com
614-506-3682
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2010 Sleep Poll
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Discover Nature's Rest
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