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Preparing tonight’s first installment of our special series on sleep has in many ways been like looking into the mirror. Last summer, I was wired head-to-toe with electrodes, monitors, and all manner of devices, and made to sleep under the watchful eye of medical technicians looking in on me via video cameras. They were trying to get to the bottom of a sleep issue I had been experiencing. When the results of my sleep study were analyzed several days later, I learned I was one of the 40 million Americans who suffer from a sleep disorder. Nice, I suppose, to learn I’m not alone.
Like most of us, I could offer plenty of reasons why I was tired during the day. Getting up early to do the "Today" show. Staying out late. Long days on the road. A sleep disorder wasn't one of them. Our ability to rationalize our drowsiness is why experts say the vast majority of sleep disorders go undiagnosed. Tonight I’ll introduce you to an Ohio mother who learned she had a life-threatening sleep ailment only after she was nearly in a serious accident. Her story is an important wake-up call and underscores the fact sleep disorders are not only being better recognized as a major health problem, but also a serious public safety issue.
Thankfully my sleep problem is not severe and has been easily treated. Yet I recognize that I still suffer from another sleep disorder that may be more societal in its cause than medical: Our tendency to burn the candle at both ends.
I hope you’ll join us for the next three nights as we offer what we think will be an eye-opening look at our restless nation.
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Busy Monday
I applaud the Nightly News producers for taking time to put into the broadcast this issue of "sleep disorders" and how this does affect so many and who don't realize they have it. And Lester Holt should be an excellent one to do this what with your own experience dealing with this condition so you can relate to it very well. As I myself have undergone a sleep study recently with all the attachments and being watched through the nite by audio and video obsevation devices, I will be intensely interested in this particular series to see how the medical field looks it, as well as others who are affected in some way by this condition.
Gerry B. in Chicago (Sent May 15, 2006 4:53:15 PM)
I'm suppose to sleep?
Wil, Olalla, WA (Sent May 15, 2006 4:38:35 PM)
what is going on with Big Pharma? I too an an insomniac, and every night when I start to think about sleeping, I am bombarded with everything from Ambien to Lunesta to 'neverous leg' syndrome. I was taking Ambien for years as I am renting a home on a busy intersection. Then the new studies came out saying it was making me crazy, sleep walking and sleep eating, then one of the Kennedy's fesses up---what is safe?????
(Sent May 15, 2006 3:49:05 PM)
Perfect timing...and I thought I was the only one not sleeping well!
I will be at work tonight, so I will watch tomorrow morning, thanks to your replay of Nightly News. I particularly appreciate the ability to watch at any time when there are stories of interest such as this.
Looking forward to the reports, and grateful I can watch anytime!
Diane, Birmingham, AL (Sent May 15, 2006 3:43:31 PM)
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