101 Questions About Sleep and Dreams

Introduction

Sleep and dreams have captured the imagination and interest of man since recorded history. Modern science has discovered much about what goes on when we sleep and the effects of sleep loss.

The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research reported to The United States Congress that approximately 40 million Americans suffer from chronic problems with sleep and wakefulness, 20 - 30 million people experience intermittent sleep problems, and millions of others obtain inadequate sleep as a result of their work schedules or lifestyles.

The consequences of these sleep problems are increased risk of sickness, accidents and death as well as decreased quality of life. It is for these reasons that the National Institutes of Health established The National Center for Sleep Disorders Research. The Center funds research on sleep and sleep disorders, disseminates information about sleep to the public and fosters improved communication between governmental agencies on policy issues that relate to sleep and sleep disorders.

Imagine trying to stay awake for 24 hours straight. Dr. Mary Carskadon and her colleagues asked a group of people to do just that and found that they failed to stay awake 278 times. Here is when, according to the twelve consecutive 2-hour intervals throughout the day, those 278 unwanted naps happened.

The numbers on the vertical axis refer to the number of naps that occurred in each of the 2-hour intervals. The timing of these naps shows when the biological tendency for humans to fall asleep is the greatest.

Now look at 437,511 times of death from a large series of death certificates of people who died from medical conditions, such as heart disease and cancer. The numbers shown on the vertical axis refer to thousands of deaths. It is easy to see that the peak times when people succumb to disease seem to coincide with the peak times for sleep.

The timing of 6,052 unexplained traffic accidents indicates that there is also some relationship between sleep and other types of problems. The numbers on the vertical axis refer to hundreds of accidents. These accidents were collected from studies around the world and are the kind in which investigators could find no drug, alcohol or mechanical problems.

Because sleep influences such fundamentally important aspects of our lives as resistance to disease and safety on the roads, all sorts of people ranging from students, to doctors, to public policy makers are asking many questions about sleep. How does someone become familiar with the important personal and public health issues involving sleep?

The story of sleep and dreams is long and complicated. This book, however, succinctly answers the most commonly asked questions about sleep and dreams. Just a glance through '101 Questions' will let you see why it has become one of the most popular books on the subject of sleep. Read all over the world, '101 Questions' is also available in the German, Greek, Korean and Spanish languages.

The questions are organized in a logical manner that introduces the most important concepts of modern sleep research and underscores the challenges to modern society presented by man's biologic need for sleep. The answers are brief and understandable. The information in this book will satisfy natural curiosity as well as suggest sensible courses of action for those with sleep problems.

Readers who find that they want more information than is offered will be referred to web sites on the world wide web and several more advanced texts on the subject of sleep, sleep disorders, shift work and dreams.

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