Deprivation damages the body, not just the mind.

The alarm clock in Thom Stys's bedroom goes off at 4am every weekday, a scant four to five hours after his head hits the pillow. By 5am, he's left his Chino Hills home in California for the freeway and before the sun is up he's at his desk in Long Beach, making a round of phone calls to clients in Europe.

"If I left later, it would take me an hour and a half to get to work," says the 57-year-old vice-president of an aerospace forging company. "I simply can't afford to spend time caught up in freeway traffic."


The combination is deadly because a good night's sleep now appears to be every bit as important to good health and long life as a nutritious diet and regular exercise.
"Sleep is in the top three," says Dinges. "And I think it's number one. Sleep is a biological imperative and not getting enough has health-related costs."
In April, the American Institute of Medicine issued a report confirming links between sleep deprivation and an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack and stroke.