Sleep is a Luxury

Many people feel that sleep is a waste of time. They have busy lives with work and families so they try to squeeze every minute out of every day. They finally surrender to sleep when they are absolutely exhausted. . . article discusses how this effects our bodies over time.
Many people feel that sleep is a waste of time. They have busy lives with work and families so they try to squeeze every minute out of every day. They finally surrender to sleep when they are absolutely exhausted. The problem they are not recognizing is that when you are sleep deprived, you are forcing your body to work at a disadvantage. An exhausted body cannot work to it’s full potential, mentally or physically.
Sleep studies around the world have shown that the lack of sleep affects your physical, mental, and emotional life. A study at the University of Wisconsin showed that sleep deprivation can cause a number of health problems such as depression, heart problems, and alertness while performing important tasks such as driving.. Another sleep test reported by the magazine “Science News” reported that when 48 volunteers were deprived of sleep for a period of two weeks, it reduced their mental abilities. This included alertness, reaction time, and memory.
Sleep is natures way of allowing our bodies to rejuvenate. There are two stages of sleep. REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM. During REM sleep the body is able to experience complete muscle relaxation, this allows us to wake up feeling physically refreshed. REM sleep is also the time when our blood pressure and heart rate lower, and the time when our brain secretes a hormone called cortisol. Without cortisol our bodies will not have the sufficient means to combat circulatory diseases. This REM sleep is also when the circulatory system rests and this helps to avoid cardiovascular disease.
Sleep is also the time when our bodies combat and metabolize free radicals. Free radicals are the molecules that are said to increase the aging process and even cause cancer. Sleep deprivation is also linked to the lack of production of white blood cells. We all know that we need these to fight infection.
Sleep can seriously affect our appetite. Our brain interprets lack of sleep as hunger. While we sleep our bodies secrete a hormone called leptin. Leptin is what tells our brain that we are full when we eat. When we are awake for longer periods of time our bodies do not have the opportunity to produce leptin. This, in turn, causes us to feel hungry and crave carbohydrates. Thus, sleep deprivation can easily lead to another health problem, obesity.
Sleep deprivation is not just a problem here in the United States. In Portugal three out of four people report that they go to bed after midnight and still get up early and go to work. The Japanese seem to sleep the least, over forty percent report that they get six hours of sleep or less. In fact, a report on sleep deprivation from Japan reported that tests done on those who only got four to five and a half hours of sleep each night did poorly on tests that measured memory, clear thinking, and the ability to pay attention. The Australians, on the other hand, are in bed around ten o’clock and get around nine hours of sleep each night. I think they have the right idea.
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/1544/1/Sleep---Luxury-or-Necessity.html

The economics of sleep
Economists term “luxury good” as one for which demand increases faster than the rare of increase in income. An “inferior good” is one where a typical consumer’s demand actually decreases with rising income. (For a “normal good” demand and income are proportional.)
Economics is the study of resource allocation under the condition of scarcity, and for many people, the scare resource is time. Either consciously or unconsciously, people make decisions about how to allocate their time, including time in bed and time working. A familiar chart on the walls of university students says “Sleep, work, play: pick two”.
There’s no question that sleep disorders are a drag on the economy when it comes to lost productivity, work time, medical expenses, and bad moods.
A study of people from 12 countries found that for each one-hour increase in “market work” (as opposed to, say, unpaid housework), sleep time was reduced by 10 minutes.
The number of hours the average person sleeps has declined over the past century, and while much of this is due to electrification of homes (with lights and televisions, etc), it is reasonable to think that part of it is due to the expansion of the market economy and specialization of labor.
Differences between demographic groups

A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2006 showed that wealthier people on average have lower sleep latency than poor people. They were more efficient sleepers, spending a greater portion of their time in bed asleep. Of course, these are averages and there is quite a bit of variation within groups.
Sleep efficiency also differed between men and women and between black and white people
Sleep
All
White women
White men
Black women
Black men
Time in bed
7.51
7.84
7.34
7.55
7.10
Sleep latency (minutes)
22.33
13.30
18.52
28.36
35.93
Sleep duration (hours)
6.13
6.71
6.09
5.90
5.10
Sleep efficiency
80.8%
85.7%
82.4%
78.2%
73.2%

(The above table from the University of Chicago website.)
Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor health, and a recent study showed that pediatric sleep apnea is more common in poor neighborhood. University of Chicago researchers also found that higher income people tend to sleep more than lower income people.
Another study by Case Western Reserve University showed that low socioeconomic status is associated with “long sleep” (excessive sleep) and early mortality. (Separately it is known there is a connection between long sleep and early mortality.) Nobody knows the exact connection.
A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research stated that economists found that higher employment (and lower unemployment) is correlated with an increase in heart disease. "A single percentage point reduction in unemployment increases predicted deaths from heart attack by about 1.3 percent." Sleep deprivation was listed as a possible cause.
There was an unusual study out of John F. Kennedy University which looked at the sleep and dream patterns of Americans to see if there was a difference between liberals and conservatives. The author concluded that conservatives slept more soundly and had fewer remembered dreams than liberals. There were only 234 people studied and this sounds a little difficult to believe.
"Dawn comes soon enough for the working class" - Exene Cervanka and John Doe
http://www.sleepdex.org/economics.htm

To some people, sleep is a waste of time. This set of people prefers very busy schedule and social engagements, and only surrender to sleep when extremely tired. In contrast, others would give anything for a good night sleep. Researchers have established that sleep is a complex process regulated by the brain and it obeys a 24-hour biological clock. They also assert that some adults appear to need only three hours of sleep a day; others need up to ten hours. As one gets older, the sleeping habits changes. A newborn sleeps for frequent short periods that total about 18 hours a day. The biological clock is regulated by chemical substances such as melatonin – a hormone that trigger sleepiness. Melatonin is produced in the brain, and some scientists believe that it is responsible for the slowdown of the body’s metabolism that occurs prior to falling asleep. As melatonin is released, body temperature and blood flow to the brain are reduced, and the muscles gradually loose their tone ad become flaccid. Approximately two hours after one falls asleep, the eyes begin to quiver quickly back and forth. This observation led scientists to divide sleep into 2 basic phases: rem (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep can be sub-divided into four stage of progressively deeper sleep. During a healthy night’s sleep, REM sleep occurs several times, alternating with non-REM sleep. Most dreaming occurs during REM sleep. The body also experiences maximum muscle relaxation, which allows the sleeper to wake up feeling physically refreshed. In addition, some researchers believe that newly acquired information is consolidated as part of one’s long-term memory during this sleep. Also, during deep sleep, the blood pressure and heart rate reach lower ranges providing rest for the circulatory system. In addition, the production of growth hormone peaks during non-REM sleep. Sleep also seems to affect one’s appetite. The brain interprets lack of sleep as lack of food. During sleep, leptin – the hormone that notify the body that one has eaten enough – is secreted. Staying awake for a long period leads to reduction in the production of leptin. Today, millions of people have difficulty sleeping well. Sleep specialists posit that an estimated 35 percent of the world’s population suffer from insomnia – the inability to enjoy normal and sufficient sleep. They assert described sleeping badly as “one of the most serious epidemics of the turn of the century.” Many insomniacs suffer in ignorance. They simply accept sleeping badly as part of life and resign themselves to spending their waking hours feeling irritated and drowsy. To these, sleep is neither a luxury nor a necessity.

http://www.shvoong.com/medicine-and-health/1732578-sleep-luxury-necessity/