“Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds.” — JoJo Jensen, Dirt Farmer Wisdom
As a resident, I spent one horrible week on my surgical rotation clocking 138 hours in the hospital…and I slept only 6 1/2 of those. By the end of the week, I had decided to quit residency. Fortunately, a good night’s sleep helped me turn that decision around.
I recently heard an interesting AMA Journal of Ethics podcast called “Sleep as a Vital Sign” with Dr. Lauren Hale from Stony Brook University. In her interview, she clarifies the distinction between sleep medicine and the study of sleep as a public health issue, the latter of which is her academic interest. She offers policy recommendations to decrease morbidity and mortality from sleep deprivation, like eliminating daylight savings time and making school start times later. She also touches on how the lack of sleep adversely affects medical professionals.
The podcast episode is brief and interesting. Plus, you can get CME credit for listening :-).
