Probably you still need Homer's verses to continuously hum in your head in order to realize the importance of sleep or probably not. But here is Homer's verse anyway:

"There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep."

We hope that this powerful prose will move you into reconsidering your actions of foregoing sleep especially when you are faced with a heavy and packed schedule. Indeed it seems easier to adjust your sleep schedule in order to accommodate more work instead of the other way around. While we understand that life's pressures make sleep your least priority, it is important that you know what the consequences of this could be.

You may be hearing lots of stories about amazingly successful people who says that they survive with only a few hours of sleep every night without experiencing any ill effects. Well, you must know that even if they do sleep little at night, these people regularly take catnaps during the day. This shows that sleep is very important to us all. All of us need sleep in order to survive.

It has long been established that depriving yourself of sleep both intentionally or unintentionally can lead to the following consequences, among others:

?Having reduced concentration
?Experiencing extreme fatigue
?Impairment of problem solving skills
?Reaction times decrease
?Memory problems

Studies on sleep deprivation showed that people tend to develop speech problems, hallucinate, and exhibit anxiety and paranoid symptoms. Furthermore, if you lose about 4 hours of needed sleep in one night, your reactions become 45% slower.

If you are not very well convinced with these, you might want to experiment on yourself by noting down your observations of how you feel, physically and mentally after a whole night or even half the night without sleep.

In 2002, a research was conducted focusing on US drivers and showed that there were a staggering number of 100 million people who drive even if drowsy or sleepy. Sleepiness is a condition that may get you into what is called a microsleep, which lasts only a few seconds but can be fatal if it happens while you are driving.

Sleepy or drowsy drivers result to the following situations:

- Problem in focusing with driving
- Heavy eyelids and/or frequent blinking
- Difficulty in holding head up
- Yawning frequently
- Missing exit signs and other road signs
- Unable to remember the last few miles of the ride
- Car have tendency to drift across the lanes
- Tailgating

If you feel these signs occurring in you while driving, then there is only one solution - SLEEP!

Now you see? You do not have to be repeatedly reminded of the importance of sleep - not when you already know through everyday news of road accidents and other accidents due to sleep deprivation - that going without sleep can become fatal.

Gerrard Mackenzie is the author of the ebook Supercharge Your Sleep and Special Sleep Report which taught thousands of the stressed-out, tired and overworked how to overcome their sleeping difficulties and get a better night's rest. He currently blogs over at Supercharge Your sleep Blog Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerrard_Mackenzie