Americans drastically underestimate the value of sleep, book suggests

If we operated machinery like we operate the human body, we?d be accused of reckless endangerment, says psychologist and sleep researcher James Maas, PhD, of Americans? propensity to shortchange themselves of sleep.

The costs of lack of sleep to the nation?s wellness are staggering, Maas says in his new book ?Power Sleep,? (Villard, 1998).

Drivers who fall asleep at the wheel trigger at least 1,500 accidents annually. And the nation?s economy loses at least $100 billion a year to the lagging productivity of tired workers and illnesses caused by sleep shortage, Maas claims.

?People think it?s macho to get by on small amounts of sleep, then wonder why they?re groggy and exhausted by mid-day,? says Maas, a psychology professor at Cornell University.

Most people need at least eight or nine hours of sleep nightly, Maas says. But the average person gets considerably less than that, studies suggest. Most college students only get 6 hours of sleep a night, according to Maas? surveys of Cornell University undergraduates. And less than 1 percent of them say they stay fully alert all day long?a finding corroborated in other studies of college students.

Sleep rates in the general population are also well below par, Maas says. At least a third of Americans sleep only six hours nightly, which means they?re always running a two-hour sleep deficit. Consequently, most people have problems staying awake during the day, according to his book.

Most people stop sleeping before they achieve a full dose of energizing sleep, Maas says. He blames society?s growing wakefulness partially on electricity, which powers our lights, computers and television sets late into the night. Mostly, though, the problem is one of attitude, he says.

?At some point, people started thinking eight hours of sleep is slothful, which shows enormous ignorance of sleep?s benefits,? says Maas. ?Just an extra hour or two causes huge rebounds in happiness, productivity and creativity.?