A sleep debt is the accumulated amount of lost sleep over time.  Those who need 7 hours of sleep a night, can, over a week, amass a sleep debt of 7 hours if only get 6 hours of sleep nightly.  A sleep debt robs us of quality of life, deteriorating our physical and cognitive acuity slowly until we are overwhelmed by powerful and sudden sleepiness.  The nationwide sleep debt, resulting in fatigue, has been reported to cost the American economy about $120 million annually in both health expenditures, lost worker productivity, and property destruction.

Today, Americans are sleeping a full hour a day less than our ancestors did at the turn of the century.  If you are fatigued, depressed, have trouble thinking, reacting, and staying alert, you may well very well have a sleep debt.  Improve your odds of getting a good night's sleep:

• Keep the sleeping room cool:  lowering the temperature helps your body cool down, which can help to trigger sleep onset

• Keep the sleeping room dark:  light is the most powerful time cue for humans; even low ambient light (such as that of a nightlight) alter the sleep-wake cycle by way of the pineal, which is a light-sensitive organ that detects light even if the eyes are closed.

• Keep the sleeping room quiet.  If you cannot keep sound to an absolute minimum, use a fan, air cleaner, or other source of "white noise" to drown out discernable noise.

American adults are sleeping 6.8 hours a night on weekdays and 7.4 hours a night on weekends. ~ National Sleep Foundation, 2005 Sleep in America poll