Study after study shows that I was not alone, that college students are chronically sleep deprived due to their erratic work and social schedules. Warren is one among many. According to the National Sleep Foundation , a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., Americans sleep 20 percent less than they did as this century began. In 1910 Americans slept an average of nine hours a night. Today they rest for about seven.
Most doctors recommend at least eight to insure good health.
Unfortunately, getting eight hours of sleep is unusual for most people. We live in a 24-hour society. There are more shift workers, more things we can do when the sun goes down. Before electricity, people used the dark to sleep. Now we've got cable TV and the Internet, which keep millions of people up when they should be sleeping.