Are more Americans "waking up" or "going to sleep" everyday?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

This is a discussion I was having with a cynical friend who seemed to be of the "what's the use? they're going to win anyway" sort of mindframe. So I asked the question in the opening post.

The Sleepers are the ones who say,"I care, but it's just all so exhausting, and I'd rather nap then think about it. Besides, it really doesn't concern me."

Personally, I think more Americans are WAKING UP every day. They just got a higher medical co-pay, or their gas bill doubled,or their parent is calling them up because their Medicare "support" just tripled their drug bills,or they now realize that their patriotic war veteran hero son/daughter is getting crap for help and support,or their job just got outsourced,or their home might be foreclosed,or they can't get a Fema trailer, . . . or just name any one of the inconsequential, yet calamitous, anonymous tragedies that occurs 100 times a minute in the late great United States of America.

When Americans finally do switch off the "snooze" button and wake-up - they're gonna be pissed!

[AndyTiedye]

1. More Americans Are Having Difficulty Going to Sleep

Record Sales of Sleeping Pills Are Causing Worries
By STEPHANIE SAUL

Americans are taking sleeping pills like never before, fueled by frenetic workdays that do not go gently into a great night's sleep, and lulled by a surge of consumer advertising that promises safe slumber with minimal side effects.

About 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled last year, according to the research company IMS Health, up nearly 60 percent since 2000.

But some experts worry that the drugs are being oversubscribed without enough regard to known, if rare, side effects or the implications of long-term use. And they fear doctors may be ignoring other conditions, like depression, that might be the cause of sleeplessness.…

Ten percent of Americans report that they regularly struggle to fall asleep or to stay asleep throughout the night. And more and more are turning to a new generation of sleep aids like Ambien, the best seller, and its competitor, Lunesta. Experts acknowledge that insomnia has become a cultural benchmark — a side effect of an overworked, overwrought society.…

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/business/07sleep.html?_r=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print