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March 27, 2006
Dispelling Myths on Sleep "Deprivation"
Speaking of getting a good night’s sleep, Live Science reports on the views of several researchers that the "sleep deprived American" is a myth fostered by pharmaceutical companies.
A lot of money is at stake. Over the next few years, the global hypnotics (sleeping pills) market is expected to reach $5 billion.
A six year study of more than one million adults by UC San Diego psychiatry professor Daniel Kripke revealed that people who get only 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night have a lower death rate than those who get 8 hours of sleep.
Moreover, the study found that the risk to one’s health of taking hypnotics thirty or more times a month is not appreciably less than the risk of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Kripke’s study even showed that individuals with severe insomnia or who only get 3 1/2 hours of sleep a night live longer than those who get more than 7 1/2 hours of sleep.
Kripke has an online book on the subject, The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills, if you want to read more.
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