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We all know that sleep deprivation is an increasing disturbing phenomenon in the US and the affect lack of sleep can have on the performances of the sleep deprived out there!

Back in the 50s, American slept an average of 8 hours a day, but over time the amount of sleep we indulge ourselves with has gradually diminished to point where it is estimated that American now only sleep 7 hours a day. I would suggest that even this figure is optimist at best, and likely to be much lower for all of us with busy lives, jobs, careers etc.

One of the most common complaints that health professional now hear from their patient is that they are tired. As a result of this, we do not perform our jobs as well as we could, and as a result, when job performance diminishes, so do production outputs. The economy as a whole then suffers the consequences.

But it is not just the economy that is a victim of our lack of sleep. Indeed, new evidence indicated that millions of chronically sleep-deprived Americans put their very own health at risk. There is a definite link between sleep and health, bad sleep and disease. High Blood pressure for example, a major factor in heart attack risks increases with lack of sleep. After all blood pressure and heart rate are at their lowest during sleep and so people who sleep less are more likely to see an increase in their hypertension. This link can also explain other findings putting lack of sleep with an increased risk of diabetes, weight gain and other problems.

Yes! Weight Gain! And if this correlation between weight and sleep surprises you, let me remind you that as the duration of our sleep has diminished over time, this trend has also coincided with an increase in obesity. In fact, recent research indicates that people who do sleep enough are more like to gain weight. There is simple and powerful evidence behind this to suggest that sleep deprivation causes a reduction in metabolism and at the same time an increase in appetite.

Indeed, inadequate sleep duration increases the levels of grehlin, a hormone responsible for making us hungry and decreases the levels of leptin, the hormone responsible for making us feel full! Sleep deprivation is also a factor in our choice of food making us crave for food that is high in carbohydrate and sugar. This is caused from the fact that sleep loss decreases insulin sensitivity increasing our risks of developing type 2 diabetes.

And it's not just weight gain either which is caused by sleep deprivation. Lack of concentration, problem-solving skills, memory and mood are all directly affected by sleep loss. Did you know for example that the performance of a person who has been awake for 17 hours straight is just about the same as that of a person with an alcohol level of 0.05 percent? Imagine a surgeon about to perform a life saving operation after a shift of 17 hours! Not to mention the more than 1,500 deaths a year which are caused by drivers who are sleep deprived.