Posted by Djabiuk on January 10, 2005 at 01:05:01:

In Reply to: Re: Long-term health Qs posted by SGS on January 07, 2005 at 20:19:02:

I have never dismissed the possibility that my self-assessment of sleepiness and fatigue are faulty in that I am may not be comparing to a proper baseline, but that is why I have tried to not just ask myself if I am tired or sleepy, but to look at behaviors (my own and others'). The fact is (while I do not think I am superman, nor do I wish to appear to be bragging), I have a very demanding job which, among other things, often involves frequently switching from English to French and being persuasive in each (which is not easy to do when truly tired) and while I have often been in meetings, or long car trips, where colleagues have fallen asleep, or almost fallen asleep, I do not do so, nor does this take any effort on my part. I am certain that my colleagues would describe me as alert, even acutely so. Furthermore, outside of work, and in addition to taking care of my children, my recreational pursuits (tennis, ping-pong, backgammon, poker) all demand some combination of quick reflexes, rapid assessment of odds, discerning reads of the opponent, etc., and in all cases I am very competitive in them, even after playing for hours. That is, while not on a professional level in any of these pastimes, it is also rare that I find another amateur opponent who can beat me soundly, or (perhaps more tellingly) outlast me. All that said, I am a type B personality (in other words, I do not think that this is a case of an uber-will overwhelmingly real fatigue). I would probably prefer to get eigth hours of sleep a night, but average more like six or six and a half. I have a two year old and a two month old, and my wife and I share childcare duties very evenly (breastfeeding being a notable exception).

I would be lying if I said I am never tired--last Tuesday, after being up almost all night with one or the other child the night before, I was definitely looking forward to bedtime--but I think that there is hardly anyone (with the exception of crank addicts) who would say that they never get tired.

All of this to say that I think my own case is strong anecdotal evidence of what SDS is pointing out demographically--there are likely a lot of people whose sleep disorder is every bit as severe in terms of the deleterious long-term morbidity/mortality outcomes but not at all as bad in terms of immediate impact on quality of life.

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