By Dr. Joseph Mercola
Mercola.com
February 6, 2018
In the featured video, professor Matthew Walker, Ph.D., founder and director of the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Human Sleep Science and author of the book “Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams,” shares the latest discoveries about sleep and how it impacts virtually every area of your physical and mental health.
I read Walker’s book last fall, and share his view that sleep is profoundly important — even more important than diet and exercise. I say this because diet and exercise will have minimal effects on your body if you are constantly exhausted and it is unlikely you will have the energy to eat well or exercise if you are always tired. Beyond that, sleeplessness has been shown to contribute to chronic illnesses such as dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
In his book, Walker suggests insomnia is “one of the most pressing and prevalent medical issues facing modern society,” yet it is rarely acted on in ways reflecting its importance. He notes the “sleep aid” industry, encompassing prescription sleeping pills and over-the-counter sleep medications, is a $30 billion-a-year industry in the U.S.
Sadly, desperate people are putting money toward drugs that have not only been shown to be ineffective for solving sleep problems, but also are known to increase your risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Most adults need at least eight hours of high-quality sleep a night, and children and teenagers even more. The reality is about 1 in 3 Americans gets less than seven hours of sleep a night and more than 83 million adults in the U.S. are sleep-deprived.1,2 ……………
Sleep-Deprived Drivers More Dangerous Than Those Under the Influence
……With respect to sleep deprivation and auto accidents, Walker speaks passionately about this subject in his book. He says one person dies every hour in the U.S. due to a fatigue-related error, and vehicular accidents caused by drowsy driving exceed those caused by alcohol and drugs combined. If you drink alcohol or take medications that make you sleepy and then drive, you are exponentially increasing your risk of suffering a crash, injury or death due to drowsy driving. States Walker
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Matthew Walker: “Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams” | Talks at Google
