sleep is the new sex.
The Institute of Medicine reports that 50-70 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from chronic insomnia. There are over 80 kinds of sleep disorders, and insomnia is now the third biggest health complaint after pain and headache.
Americans are exhausted, and the lost productivity, accidents, and damage caused by sleep fatigue cost over $100 billion annually, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Americans sleep 1.5 fewer hours than they need, and the negative health, performance, and economic implications of less sleep are rapidly becoming more apparent. Specifically, increasing scientific evidence directly correlates sleep deprivation with high blood pressure, heart failure, obesity, anxiety, depression, and other major health issues. For example, women who average less than five hours of sleep per night have a 45% greater chance of developing heart disease.
The field of sleep science is dedicated to better understand sleep, and diagnose and treat sleep disorders. To put this in perspective, the sleeping pill market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2010, and sleep scientists worldwide are striving to find new therapeutic approaches and solutions to help remedy sleep disorders.
Poor sleep leads to poor health. Lack of sleep results in short-term impairment of mental abilities and over time can lead to significant health concerns.
