MILLIONS OF AMERICANS DON'T GET ENOUGH SLEEP

50 TO 70 MILLION AMERICAN ADULTS SUFFER FROM
CHRONIC SLEEP AND WAKEFULNESS DISORDERS

ATLANTA, USA (AP) - West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness. West Virginians' lack of sleep was about double the national rate, perhaps a side effect of health problems such as obesity, experts said. Nearly 1 in 5 West Virginians said they did not get a single good night's sleep in the previous month. The national average was about 1 in 10, according to a federal health survey conducted last year and released last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 11.1 percent of the US population has not been getting enough sleep for the past nine months. 12.4 percent of women are not getting enough sleep and 9.9 percent of men. Tennessee, Kentucky and Oklahoma also were notably above average in their reported lack of sleep.

Health officials do not know the exact reasons for the differences. But experts noted several possible explanations: obesity, smoking, heart disease and the proportion of adults with disabilities. Studies have increasingly found sleeping problems in people with certain health problems, including obesity. "There's growing evidence sleep deprivation promotes obesity," said Dr. Ronald Chervin, a University of Michigan sleep disorders expert. Financial stress and odd-hour work shifts can play roles in sleeplessness, too, Chervin added. Some experts believe sleep-deprived people are more inclined to eat fatty foods during the day. Also, sleep disorders have been linked to mental distress, depression, anxiety, obesity, hypertension, as well as other illnesses.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The sacred literature has divided human consciousness into four stages: ordinary waking consciousness (jagara), dreaming consciousness (svapna), deep sleep (sushupti), and total awareness (turiya). The first three dimensions of consciousness are material, but the fourth, turiya, represents consciousness unencumbered by material influence. … The fourth dimension of consciousness (turiya) is the goal of all transcendentalists, except for the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. The Gaudiyas are interested in something more: turyatitah gopala. This is the fifth dimension, in which one comes face to face with Gopal Krsna in Vraja Dhama, from adhoksaja to aprakrta, from God consciousness to Krsna consciousness.

Srila B.V. Tripurari Maharaja
“The Fifth Dimension: From Adhoksaja to Aprakrta”
Sri Caitanya Sanga - Vol. II, No. 34 - www.swami.org