Why is A Good Night’s Sleep Important?
Sufficient sleep is not a luxury—it is a necessity. A lack of adequate sleep has both short and long–term consequences. In the short term, a lack of adequate sleep can result in: • impaired job performance, judgment, mood, and ability to learn and retain information • impaired cognitive functions such as concentration, working memory, mathematical capacity and logical reasoning • magnified effects of alcohol on the body • motor vehicle and machinery–related accidents: A National Sleep Foundation (NSF) survey revealed that 60 percent of adult drivers—about 168 million people—say that they have driven a vehicle while feeling drowsy in the past year; more than one–third—about 103 million people—have actually fallen asleep at the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver fatigue claims more than 1,500 lives and causes at least 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to: • hypertension • heart disease
