Summary:
This paper, discusses the results of analyzing sleep-related issues amongst the global population. The goal of this paper was to truly examine whether in fact it was true that there is significant sleep deprivation and insomnia occurring. They gathered data from the ATUS diary study. Contrary to the common belief, they uncovered that Americans slept more per week than the last 10-40 years. They also found similar results for Canada and other European countries. It was also interesting to note that they found that university/college students found sleep as one of the most enjoyable activities.
Response:
While this paper was primarily discussing the misconceptions/perceptions of sleep deprivation and related issues, I felt it was an examination of two different techniques of data collection – surveys vs. diaries. This was highlighted by the constant mention of misconceptions and the NSF surveys. The difference in data and according results was pretty surprising, with one showing increased sleep and the other a decline. This was not a good paper for showcasing how you collect your data is reflected in your results. In the NSF survey, they are naturally biased because they WANT to know if sleep has declined (skewing answers most likely), while the ATUS diary may be incorrect because of incorrect data recorded by users. Overall, this was an interesting examination of survey techniques. Also, I agreed with the student part of the paper, we DO enjoy sleep, especially right now J
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