Use caution before holiday sleeping

Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000 | 10 a.m.

For information on New Year's celebrations in Las Vegas, check out Vegas.com's New Year's Eve section: http://www.vegas.com/newyears.

To sleep or not to sleep, that is the question for this New Year's Eve.

The rub is, if you don't sleep it may lead to a sea of troubles.

On the other hand, if you do sleep, you will miss out on all of the fun.

The solution is to use caution and follow a few tips from the the National Sleep Foundation:

"You can have fun on New Year's Eve while reducing the damage to your sleep," Richard Gelula, executive director of the foundation in Washington, D.C., said. "A little planning can go a long way."

Gelula recommends at least eight hours of sleep a night in order to function properly. However, a recent survey by the sleep foundation revealed most Americans get less than seven hours.

Driving while drowsy is potentially as deadly as driving while drunk. More than half of adult drivers admitted to driving while drowsy, and younger drivers -- those 18 to 29 -- were more likely to drive drowsy than other age groups.

Nearly one-quarter of young drivers, including college students and young workers, reported actually falling asleep at the wheel during the past year. Younger drivers were also more likely to drive faster when they felt drowsy, adding to the danger.

Marcia C. Stein, a sleep foundation spokeswoman, said the organization always reminds people about the dangers of driving drowsy during the holiday season.

"Unlike drunk driving" when people know they're drunk, she said, "people don't always realize how fatigued they are ... and if they have a drink when they are tired, it exacerbates the problem."

Fatigue may come from lack of sleep because of a party, or as the result of taking a long, tiring trip.

"People taking public transportation may get off the plane or bus, or whatever, without having slept, and then they get into their car and drive home while drowsy," she said.

Las Vegas is a 24-hour town with a transient lifestyle, so sleep issues come into play year-round, not just during the holidays.

"We're going to have a higher rate (of the population) with sleep problems," Kevin Robinson, chief operating officer of the Sleep Clinic of Nevada, on East Sahara Avenue, said. "There are a lot of shift workers who keep irregular schedules, but theirs is more of a sleep-hygiene problem than a sleep disorder."

Sleep hygiene deals with sleeping habits, which individuals can control. Sleep disorders, however, have physical or psychological causes for a person's lack of sleep.

Sleep apnea, Robinson said, is the most prevalent disorder. It is created by breathing passages that are blocked during sleep and usually is easily cured using a device called a Continuous Positive Air mask, worn over the face at night to make breathing easier.

"Contrary to popular belief, insomnia is not a sleep disorder, but a symptom of a disorder," he said.

Robinson said his clinic, one of about 10 in town, always sees an increase in business during the holiday season. "But that's only because (people's) medical (insurance) deductible is due, not because they have suddenly developed a sleep problem."