"Drowsiness is red alert!" is a phrase coined by Stanford's William Dement, MD, PhD, who is often referred to as the "Father of Sleep Medicine." It's also a phrase he wrote on the wall of KQED's green room this morning as a guest on Forum. Dement, along with Stanford sleep expert Rafael Pelayo, MD, and UC Berkeley's Matthew Walker, PhD, discussed sleep, or lack thereof, in the United States.
During the hour-long segment, the panel weighed in on the detrimental effects that poor sleep has on people's physical and mental health, and took numerous calls from listeners. The experts also emphasized that quality, not just quantity, of sleep is important. "You should wake up feeling refreshed," Pelayo told listeners. "You don't leave restaurants feeling hungry, [so] you should not wake up in the morning feeling tired."
Previously: Stanford researcher examines link between sleep troubles and suicide in older adults, Catching some Zzzs at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, Exploring the effect of sleep loss on health, Catching up on sleep science and Thanks, Jerry: Honoring pioneering Stanford sleep research
Related: Sleep legend Dement keeps last class wide awake
Photo by Margarita Gallardo
