You've heard the phrase, "You snooze, you lose."  Perhaps this philosophy is the reason that at least 70 million Americans are sleep deprived with 60% chronically so. (Source:  National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.)

There's increasing pressure in society to get less sleep because we have so many other demands on our time – from work to play, from family to friends.  We don't leave work at work anymore – we have home offices, e-mail that we feel compelled to check every day and 24/7 availability through our cell phones.  We think being able to work hard and play hard is a badge of honor.

Unfortunately, no one gets away with being sleep deprived.  When we get less sleep than we need each night, we develop a "sleep debt."  This debt is cumulative, meaning that one less hour of needed sleep at night adds us to a seven hour deficit by the end of the week.

As with any debt, a sleep debt needs to be paid back.  If it isn't, consequences occur including sleepiness that:

• Reduces your ability to perform, think, concentrate, learn, and react
• Increases anxiety, irritability and depression
• Changes certain body functions 

Worst of all, sleep deprivation can be dangerous.  It causes accidents on the job, in the home, and, most serious of all, on the road.

Why does the human body need sleep?  The truth is, no one really knows.  There are two basic theories:  (1) that sleep has a restorative function; and, (2) that sleep has an adaptive function helping us to consolidate and fix memories and advance learning.  Many scientists believe that in a few years we'll understand not just why we sleep, but also what underlying biochemical mechanisms control the activity.