Colleagues,
Last night, for me, reflected a similar pattern. I would go to bed and find I was unable to sleep. Once I did get to sleep, I found I woke up often (with my best hours of sleep between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.). So, what's happening? Did you know the Center for Disease Control says, "Insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic."
What does this epidemic look like? According to The State of Sleep Health in America, 70% of adults in America report insufficient sleep at least one night a month, and 11% report insufficient sleep every night. This represents approximately 50 to 70 million Americans of all ages and socioeconomic classes.
So, what is the impact of sleep issues with our student populations? Or work colleagues? Our health?
- We know that memories move from short term to long term memories during REM sleep. How doe this impact both our adult learners and professionals in professional development?
- We know that there is an impact on productivity when employees are suffering from sleep deprivation.
- We also know our heath is at risk when we struggle with sleep deprivation.
Is this a concern you experience? Do you see it with yourself, your colleagues, and / or your students?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. For the remainder of this week, I will be sharing articles and tips for sleep health and the connection between sleep and learning / sleep and employee productivity.
As for tonight, I wish you all happy sleeping.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Comments
Colleagues,
As we conntinue this discussion on sleep health, let's look at the impact of irregular sleep habits on academic performance. From the article "many college students generally don’t know what it means to have a good sleeping routine. Due to class schedules that differ on a daily basis, part-time jobs, extra-curricular and social activities, students adapt to irregular sleep cycles that can seriously impact their academic performance as well as mental and physical health."
While the article references college students, these ideas can apply to our learner. The complex and irratic schedules can lead to lack of sleep.
How do we educate our students on the value of sleep? Do you address this in your classroom? I'd love to hear some examples.
Kathy
This is the last post in a series related to sleep health. I invite you to review the article about insomnia costing the U.S. workforce $63.2 billion a year! From the article, "“We were shocked by the enormous impact insomnia has on the average person’s life,” said lead author Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D. “It’s an underappreciated problem. Americans are not missing work because of insomnia. They are still going to their jobs but accomplishing less because they’re tired. In an information-based economy, it’s difficult to find a condition that has a greater effect on productivity.”
What do you think? Have you experienced insomnia where it impacted your daily life? What about your peers?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Kathy