What We All Must Know About Sleep and Sleep Disorders, but Don't.
William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center
ABSTRACT:
It should never be assumed that any person's sleep is normal and adequate. The
correct assumption is that sleep is either inadequate in amount, abnormal, or
both, until proven otherwise.
The cost of sleep deprivation in terms of errors, accidents, and diminished
productivity is difficult to evaluate, but recent studies by the United States
Commission on Sleep Disorders Research estimate that costs approach 100 billion
dollars annually in America.
In the area of sleep disorders, fifty million Americans are chronically ill
with a specific disorder, and millions more suffer intermittently. Also,
through lack of awareness, the majority remain unrecognized, and patients with
the most serious and prevalent sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, remain
unidentified in 90 percent of medical practice settings in America. Ten
million American adults are chronically ill with a sleep and breathing
disorder, and a large proportion are at high risk for premature death.
The practice of medicine must include the sleeping patient.
BIOGRAPHY:
William C. Dement is the Lowell W. and Josephine Q. Berry Professor of
Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine at Stanford University. He is also the Director
of the Sleep Disorders and Sleep Research Center at Stanford. He was the
co-discoverer of REM sleep and the founder of the world's first sleep disorders
center in 1970. From 1990 to 1992, he was Chairman of the National Commission
on Sleep Disorders Research. For over 20 years, he has taught a popular course
at Stanford on sleep and dreams, and he has made countless TV appearances.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Dement "more than any other
individual is responsible for the creation of a modern, viable field of sleep
research."
His Ph.D. in physiology and his M.D. are both from the University of Chicago.
He has authored over 500 scientific publications and has recently published a
new book, The Sleepwatchers.