Are you sleep deprived?

Today I went to my 9 am, Psych class feeling pretty tired. I was up late the night before having worked a writing center shift, read about 150 pages of Willie Morris' ranting, finished the story of Maya Angelou's childhood, delved into some utterly confusing James Joyce and had begun writing a paper that was due at 2:45 this afternoon. Needless to say I could've used a bit more sleep, instead I endured a lecture on sleep. Now let me tell you...if you've never seriously considered the role sleep plays in your life then you need to sit in a class barely able to keep your head up and hear about all the horrifing and creepy things that sleep/sleep deprivation has in store for you. I left the lecture twitchy and paranoid, like a drug addict going through withdrawl...which it can be argued, I was. During class we had to complete a worksheet which I have dutifully copied here for your viewing pleasure. Answer truthfully, its important, for real.

Answer true or false to the following questions:

1. I need an alarm clock in order to wake up at the appropriate time.

2. It's a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning.

3. Weekday mornings I hit the snooze button several times to get more sleep.

4. I feel tired, irritable, and stressed-out during the week.

5. I have trouble concentrating and remembering.

6. I feel slow with critical thinking, problem solving, and being creative.

7. I often fall asleep watching TV.

8. I often fall asleep in boring meetings or lectures or in warm rooms.

9. I often fall asleep after heavy meals or after a low dose of alcohol.

10. I often fall asleep while relaxing after dinner.

11. I often fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed.

12. I often feel drowsy while driving.

13. I often sleep extra hours on weekend mornings.

14. I often need a nap to get through the day.

15. I have dark circles around my eyes.

Total up your trues and your falses. Now if you have more than three trues, you are sleep deprived. Crazy huh? I had eleven...ELEVEN...and i might have been a bit generous with the falses. Supposedly an adult should shoot for nine to ten hours a night...What?!?!?! I don't have that time to spare, I'm lucky if I get four or five, this seems like a good night to me. However, sleep deprivation can make you fat, dumb, give you hallucinations and ultimately kill you.

Soooo, I'm thinking we should be napping. Like right now. This information left me twitchy, but when I discussed it later with a friend they informed me hallucinations were only dreams with your eyes open...that doesn't sound so bad huh?