And recent studies have shown that when all clues to time are removed and people are permitted to sleep as much as they choose, they sleep 10.3 hours out of every 24, just as monkeys and apes do. Dr. Naomi Breslau and her colleagues at the Sleep Disorder Center at Henry Ford Health Sciences Center in Detroit reported last fall that an increase in daytime sleepiness can be detected after a mere one-hour sleep loss. In a study of 1,007 young adults, these researchers found that the people most likely to be sleepy during the day were those who were unmarried and working full-time, those who snored and those with a history of major depression. Although most people tend to minimize the effects of insufficient sleep as simply feeling a bit tired, studies of sleep-deprived people have shown that they are less efficient and more irritable. If you happen to be driving during a microsleep, which lasts 10 to 60 seconds, there is ample time to get into a serious and possibly fatal accident.
Drowsy drivers can fall asleep at the wheel with little or no warning.
Drowsiness can also result in industrial accidents, decreased productivity and interpersonal problems. Simply resting is not an adequate substitute for sleep. If you get sleepy when you are bored or sitting quietly in a warm or dark room or trying to read or listen to a concert or lecture, you are sleep-deprived. Millions of Americans take costly naps in theaters and concert halls. You'd be better off reaching for a cot than a cup.