Feeder 1.2

Kelsey Kolojejchick

“Sleep Debt” in the United States

Humans need sleep. Everyone knows how important the value of sleep is but why do we continue to decrease the amounts of sleep that we get? According to the article “The United States is a Sleepy Nation” on average, the average American needs eight hours of sleep a night. The lack of sleep within individuals can cause them to become short-tempered and decrease their abilities to concentrate. This lack of focus has lead to many accidents which has cost the nation billions of dollars. Teenagers are the main individuals who have reduced the amount of hours of sleep they need which has increased accidents as well as increased poor performances in school. These individuals are become the next generation to step into the real world but with the sleeping problems evolving now can have negative impacts later on. Adults on the job have had numerous occasions where they have been overly tired or feel asleep on the job which lead to accidents. This sleep deprived nation is a continuous struggle that is playing a role which is negatively impacting the United States individual performances.

People are increasing becoming more sleep deprived in the United States. This problem is increasing the number of accidents that are happening throughout the country. Many people are falling asleep at the wheel while driving, and falling asleep during their jobs which is costing money and even costing lives. When people are really tired from the lack of sleep, they become moody and unfocused which increases chances of having negative impacts within a specific situation. Teenagers are following asleep during school which is making the school lose its educational value because they are spending their time sleeping instead of learning. College students skip classes because they would rather be sleeping which can affect their grades poorly. On-the-job accidents are severe because of employees being sleep deprived. This article mentions incidents where a man’s lack of sleep played a role in a large oil spill. Another disaster could have been controlled if workers would have been able to respond quicker, when water pumps shut down at a nuclear power plant causing radioactive steam to be released which made the whole area evacuate.

The safety of individuals is a priority within the United States but with people becoming more sleep deprived has been increasing the chances of more accidents to happen. If people would get the proper eight hours of sleep, they would have better focus while driving, while at work and while at school to decrease accidents in the US. The proper amount of sleep is crucial to help increase individuals performances throughout the day as well as decrease the amount of sleeping problems within the US.