It is a little known fact that in the 1960s, Andy Warhol (in-part) began his independent filmmaker phase of his career because he was actually CONCERNED (as concerned as an artist who was “too cool” to show his emotions could be) that the act of sleeping may become obsolete. He had an idea of filming French beauty Brigitte Bardot for eight hours in the act of sleeping—but worried that by the time he went through all of the red tape of making that happen, the need for humans to sleep would be non-existent! He explained in an interview, “I could never finally figure out if more things happened in the sixties because there was more awake time for them to happen in (since so many people were on amphetamine), or if people started taking amphetamine because there were so many things to do that they needed to have more awake time to do them in.” Warhol then had the epiphany that he needed to record this soon-to-be-dropped-from-the-English-language term “sleep” so future generations knew of its existence. He concluded, “Seeing everybody so up all the time made me think that sleep was becoming pretty obsolete, so I decided I’d better quickly do a movie of a person sleeping. ‘Sleep’ was the first movie I made when I got my 16mm Bolex [camera].”

Luckily Warhol’s prediction of sleep going the way of the dodo bird never materialized, but still many people don’t realize the importance of a good night’s sleep. A few holdovers are of the same “hipsters of the swinging ’60s” opinion that when you sleep, you may “miss something” (and think it’s flat-out NOT cool-daddio that one-third of their lives is set aside for the act of sleeping!!).

What is the Consequence of Not Getting Enough Sleep? - So you (yeah, YOU with the heavy eye lids) may be wondering what happens to the body when you don’t get enough sleep. A better question you should be asking is what in your body ISN’T affected when you don’t get enough sleep! Not getting enough sleep can create a laundry list of issues to almost all of the major systems in your body. Even missing one day of sleep can do damage to your brain and nervous system, put strain on your cardiovascular system, severely bog down your regular metabolic functions and raise havoc on your immune system.

And these statistics are only looking at those individuals who want to stay awake. In addition to these above-listed workaholics, an additional 70 million Americans suffer from a sleeping disorder. The extended problem of a sleeping disorder is more serious than many of us can fathom. It can cause increased hypertension, elevated cardiovascular risks and the on-set (or increased severity) of both diabetes and emotional disorders (such as depression and biopolar disorder). According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine more than 38,000 cardiac deaths each year can be attributed to sleep apnea—a common sleep disorder that contributes to high blood pressure in 400,000 women and two million men. Drowsy driving is another dangerous consequence of living with an untreated sleep disorder, leading to 56,000 automobile crashes resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities each year. Finally, individuals suffering from a sleeping disorder are also at increased risk of developing alcohol and/or drug abuse problems as a way of coping and self-medicating the problem.

What Are the Top Causes for Sleep Issues? - The NSF conducted surveys from 1999-2004 that showed at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60% of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Of course there are clinical sleep disorders that may even require surgery to fix, but, in most cases, there are three top culprits that cause the majority of sleep problems: stress, medication and snoring.

Stress can come from unresolved issues and tasks that your brain simply can’t stop thinking about, lingering emotional grey clouds hovering over you (such as depression or anxiety) or “performance anxiety” over not being able to go to sleep (looking in the direction of those who stare at the almost Satanic red glowing digital numbers of your bedside clock). You may think addressing the issue causing the stress would alleviate the insomnia and restless nights, but don’t get freaked out if the sleep issue remains even after the stress is gone. The fact is you may need to retrain your body to get back on a normal sleep schedule and in particularly stubborn cases may require the supervision of a doctor. A popular method used is Sleep Restriction Therapy (SRT) developed by Dr. Spielman of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York. The SRT starts with the patient keeping a sleep journal, which the doctor reviews and tailors a custom Scheduled Sleep Time (SST). The physician then monitors this new sleep schedule that is designed to break your old bad sleeping habits and gradually train you to use more optimal sleeping habits. Initially some slight sleep deprivation will be used and you will feel tired, but this fatigue will be used to your advantage by making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep during your SST. You will set an alarm to ensure that you wake up at the appointed times on your SST. You are not allowed to sleep in, nap or sleep any other time not outlined on your SST. Deviating from your SST will only disrupt your new sleeping pattern and allow your body to fall back into bad habits. It often takes several weeks to properly retrain your body, so don’t get discouraged.

The second top cause for sleep deprivation is medications that (unbeknownst to you) are preventing you from sleeping. Many common over-the-counter drugs and common prescription drugs can act as a stimulant such as over-the-counter decongestants, asthma inhalers, allergy medicines containing antihistamines and corticosteroids. Medications used for depression or chronic pain can also cause sleep issues as well. Some anti-depressants contain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that can act as a stimulant in some patients. Other antidepressants, chronic pain drugs and even some antihistamines have a sedative (such as amitriptyline) that cause you to nap and throw off your sleep schedule. Finally some drugs are known to cause enough discomfort to prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep such as Lasix (which is used for high blood pressure) which can cause pressure in the ankles and act as a diuretic (making you run to “the loo” all night long). If you notice any of these issues, talk to you pharmacist or doctor about alternatives before these drugs make you develop long-term bad sleep habits.

Finally, sleep villain #3 is snoring. Yes, this is not only preventing your partner from a good night’s sleep, but it is affecting your sleep as well (and you may not even know it!). Snoring is caused by partial or total obstruction or blockage of your airway can cause long interruptions of breathing (more than 10 seconds) during sleep. People with serious cases can have total airway blockage episodes hundreds of times per night! Unknown to you snorers out there, you may be frequently causing yourself to wake up, and not even realize/remember it. Snorers with obstructive sleep apnea sleep lightly to try to keep their throat muscles tense enough to maintain airflow. In addition, blood oxygen levels are often lowered, which causes the heart to pump harder and blood pressure to rise—the result is a poor night’s sleep. Prolonged suffering from obstructed sleep apnea will result in higher blood pressure and may cause enlargement of the heart, with higher risks of heart attack and stroke. Lastly, the stress of not getting enough oxygen causes the body to produce adrenalin (a chemical that helps our bodies fight and cope with stressful situations) causing blood sugar to rise (which may eventually lead to diabetes!). So if you have a snoring issue (occasional or ongoing), the outline risks above should be enough to you give you a hint that it is definitely something worth at least mentioning to your doctor on your next visit.

So while you work on your New Year resolutions, be sure to add getting more sleep to the list for a healthier, happier and more productive 2012!