Archived Columns
I Sleep on It
August 14, 2000
Elsewhere in this section there is an "Ask Dr. Dement" page. Questions have been slowly coming in to this largely (as yet) unknown web site service. Finally, a question was submitted and I quote "Do these questions ever get answered?" Good point! Writing columns, monographs, papers, and answering questions accurately and in detail is always more labor intensive than anticipated and if too many other priorities devour one's time, well. . . the road to writer's hell is often paved with good intentions. But, we never give up. Whether you are aware of it or not, this is the third time such a commitment, better, solemn promise has been made. There will be a weekly commentary starting August 14, 2000. For those who are cynical, of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
We have also settled on a name for this commentary which everyone is happy with. Although it states a conventional wisdom in decision making, "I Slept on It" really symbolizes the many hours, nights, and years I have been involved in studying sleep and the consequences of inadequate sleep. I hold great hope that in this age of electronic communications, the Internet will be an effective media for the dissemination of accurate sleep information to much larger populations than has heretofore been possible.
At a recent planning meeting, several decisions were made that should foster our ability to carry out this commitment to the internet/SleepQuest public. One of these decisions is to be brief. If you become a steady reader of these commentaries, you will often see Roman numerals indicating that an important topic will be discussed over the course of several weeks, thus: Insomnia I, Insomnia II, Insomnia III, and so on. A second decision is that the commentary will be totally from me to you, my personal opinions on the latest developments in sleep medicine and other issues tempered by nearly half a century of basic and clinical sleep research and experience. We will respond to selected concerns and questions of readers in the Q&A column.
Finally, the large number of web sites devoted to sleep suggest a thirst for knowledge and understanding. I strongly believe that those of us who want to disseminate such knowledge and understanding must guarantee it to be authoritative. It is imperative that all commentaries must be easy to read, and if possible, sufficiently entertaining to attract a large audience. I am totally committed to these criteria but as I have learned in writing a book (The Promise of Sleep) specifically for the general public, there is really no happy medium between easy and entertaining on the one hand, and authoritative with sufficient detail to be clear and accurate on the other. Feedback from readers will be essential and always helpful. We solicit it, but obviously reserve judgement. I have also learned to expect responses that are off the wall and a certain amount of genuine "hate mail." Nonetheless, we are in the midst of the Internet revolution which surrounds the millennial transition. As I said earlier, it is a new and very promising opportunity to achieve effective public and professional awareness about sleep.
Good public sleep education will greatly benefit society as a whole. I hope this commentary will be a tool for each of you to achieve this. In future columns, I will be expanding on the following topics as well as many others:
Sleep need and sleep debt. I believe this is the single most important thing everyone must know and understand about their sleep. If you do not get the sleep you need, you accumulate a sleep debt. The amount of sleep you have lost in the past few months is your personal sleep debt. Many of us are severely sleep deprived and don't know it. We feel tired all the time but don't recognize the cause.
Sleep Disorders Cause Sleep Debt. It is important to know that many sleep disorders prevent us from obtaining adequate sleep. Many people with sleep disorders think they are getting lots of sleep, but are not because they are waking up hundreds of times a night without knowing it.
Education of Healthcare Providers and the Public is absolutely necessary. I strongly believe that pervasive sleep deprivation and untreated sleep disorders collectively are America's largest, deadliest and most costly health problem. A significant government initiative is urgently needed to educate the population about healthy sleep.
I firmly believe that each person who learns the essential facts about sleep function will be able to improve their health and emotional outlook. It is my hope that this column can help to achieve that goal.
Stay tuned.
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