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Before the invention of the light bulb, the average adult slept 10 hours a night. If we lived in a world without alarm clocks or deadlines, our bodies would choose to sleep 10 or more hours! Unfortunately, stress, overwork, watching TV, and surfing the Internet use precious hours that should be spent sleeping. Many working adults average just five hours of sleep on weeknights, when really they should be snoozing for seven to eight hours. Almost two-thirds of all adult Americans get fewer than the recommended eight hours of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Many children lose sleep because, like adults, they are overscheduled. Growing bodies need 8.5 to 9 hours a night of sleep. In fact, the hormone responsible for growth is secreted mostly during sleep. Even losing an hour's sleep can affect a child's mood and performance. It is important for parents to be aware of how full their children's days are, and when it is time to cut back.

How do you know whether you are sleep-deprived? If you tend to fall asleep while reading, during a business meeting, watching a movie or listening to a concert or lecture, chances are you are not getting enough ZZZ's. Then there are the medical sleep disorders that keep us up at night. Insomnia affects 40 million Americans and 400,000 have narcolepsy. If your spouse complains about your snoring, you may have sleep apnea syndrome, a condition that affects some 18 million Americans, mostly men. A frequent cause of poor quality sleep associated with frequent cessations of breathing, it can cause all the symptoms of sleep deprivation.

I am Just Drowsy, What is the Problem?

Aside from making people cranky and less efficient, chronic sleep deprivation is dangerous. It accounts for more than 100,000 automobile accidents, 1,500 auto deaths and 71,000 injuries each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic accidents increase on the Monday after the daylight savings time switch, due to an hour of lost sleep, according to a Canadian study.

The Exxon Valdez disaster was directly related to sleep deprivation. The third mate, who was in charge of the tanker when it crashed, had slept only six to eight hours in the previous two days because he was in charge of loading cargo.

If you feel particularly stressed after a bad night's sleep, you are not imagining it. Even a partial sleep loss for one night results in higher stress hormone levels the next evening. Some doctors believe that getting enough sleep increases your chances of fighting infection.

A Lark or an Owl

While most sleep researchers abide by the eight-hour-a-night recommendation, Martin Moore-Ede, Ph.D., president of Circadian Technologies, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. has a different approach. "It is important to understand your own circadian clock," Dr. Moore-Ede says. "You may be a morning person who gets to sleep best at 10 p.m. and wakes up at 5 a.m., or you may be a night owl. The key is how alert you are during the day. If you can get through the day alert and fully energetic, then you are getting enough sleep."

The author of the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Good Night's Sleep (1998, Macmillan) Dr. Moore-Ede is a consultant on sleep issues to Fortune 500 companies. He coaches employees on how to plan their sleep to best get through a project that may go around the clock.

What is Keeping You up at Night

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that people who have insomnia, sleep apnea, loud snoring, or restless legs syndrome, seek the help of a sleep specialist.

Insomnia, the most common sleep disorder, can be helped by treating the underlying psychological or physical cause, such as diabetes or heart conditions. Many people do not realize that depression is a frequent cause of insomnia. Insomnia often starts when something transient, like stress at work, keeps you awake at night for a few nights in a row. Then you get caught in a vicious cycle and worry about not being able to sleep at night. people who can fall asleep easily but wake in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep are found to be depressed. They can be helped by treating the depression.

Melatonin can be useful for people who have trouble falling asleep or are jet-lagged, and for the elderly. A dose of 3 milligrams to start with is recommended (http://www.aomega.com/ahs/s0200b.htm). Sleeping pills should only be used for short periods of temporary insomnia. After 10 days, they lose their effectiveness and can actually make the problem worse.

You Can Develop Good Sleep Hygiene - Here are Some Tips:

• Have a regular bedtime and a regular waking time, even on weekends
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine in the late afternoon and evening
• Use your bed only for resting or sleeping; do not fall into the habit of watching television in bed
• Take medication in the morning if it might interfere with your sleep
• Exercise, but do it at least three hours before bedtime
• Have a small glass of milk before bedtime. Milk contains tryptophan, which some people find helpful
• Avoid daytime naps
• Get out of bed if you do not fall asleep within half an hour.

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