Losing sleep is risky behavior

Going without sleep is as much a safety hazard as going to work drunk. It can also make people clumsy, stupid and unhappy, according to NCC psychology instructor, Diana Gant.
Gant, a sleep expert who has worked at NCC for 17 years, also said that most people suffer from sleep deprivation but not always for good reasons.
“Some people think going without sleep is the big, sophisticated, macho thing to do,” Gant said. “They figure they don’t need it, that the rules don’t apply to them, that they can get more done.
“It may work for a while, but sooner or later they begin to suffer the consequences.”
Because Gant has studied the connection between sleeplessness and accidents, she has found that sleeplessness was involved in the major disasters like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Russia’s Chernobyl nuclear reactor and the Space Shuttle Challenger.
The sleep expert has also studied the complications from resetting the biological clock on traffic accidents in Minnesota.
When people lose an hour of sleep as daylight savings time starts in the spring, Gant has noted an 8 percent increase in traffic accidents the day after the time change. Getting up just one hour early is the equivalent of a national jet lag that can last a week.
In contrast, when people gain an extra hour of sleep in the fall, there’s a decrease in accidents.
For people who have trouble making sleep a priority, Gant said to think of sleep like exercise.
“People exercise because it’s healthy. Sleep is healthy,” Gant said. “Most people need nine to 10 hours of sleep a night to perform optimally.”