Sleep Is the New Sex - Everybody Wants More of It and Nobody Gets Enough

Have you ever found yourself or the people around you in zombie mode? That is because Americans are not getting enough sleep. This is an alarming problem because many Americans have jobs with demanding tasks and require a person's full attention. How would you feel knowing that your children's school bus driver only got 4 hours of sleep the night before? Alarming isn't it?

Many people won't be able to remember the last time they woke up feeling refreshed and well rested. In the society we live in we have accommodated ourselves to getting less than 8 hours of sleep. Although people might not feel sleepy, their ability to concentrate and function properly is much less than people who get a full night's rest. Americans are not getting enough sleep because, of stress, work and children.

There are several psychosocial factors that can contribute to a bad sleep, and stress can be the reason why Americans toss and turn all night. Stress is our response to daily life. Stress comes from multiple sources such as relationship problems, bills, and school. The right amount of stress can be a healthy way to encourage us to do the things we must do, however, too much stress can make us tense, anxious, and result in sleep deprivation. "One of the main reasons that stress affects our sleep so much is that stress causes our muscles to tense, preventing us from being in the relaxed state necessary for sleep." (*) Sleep is crucial to be able to handle the day's situations, but stress can lead to sleepless nights, mood swings the next morning, thus creating a horrible cycle. "Any amount of sleep deprivation will diminish mental performance. One complete night of sleep deprivation is as impairing in simulated driving tests as a legally intoxicating blood-alcohol level." cautions Mark Mahowald, a professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Many people go through a day at work having a difficult time making executive decisions, and sleep deprivation is to blame.

Many Americans have "the night shift" job, people such as doctors, police officers, firefighters, employees at 24 hour service business work during the late and early hours of the day. They can all agree that working the night shift deprive them from a good sleep and feeling well rested even if they get 8 hours of sleep. There number of Americans in this situation is so large that the National Sleep Foundation categorized this as a disorder. "SWSD (Shift Work Sleeping Disorder) is a sleep disorder that affects people who frequently rotate shifts or work at night. The schedules of these people go against the body's natural Circadian rhythm, and individuals have difficulty adjusting to the different sleep and wake schedule." (*) A huge factor that plays a role in this disorder is the release of melatonin. "Melatonin- A hormone produced by the pineal gland, melatonin