Mainstream media reporting of sleep-related stories is definitely on the rise. My Google e-mail alerts about such stories are filled with more and more articles. The attention that is drawn by polls—such as the National Sleep Foundation's Sleep in America Poll—aids in the positive publicity, but according to a recent NPR article, sleep is still in need of public relations efforts in order to improve its image.

Sleep's image problem is due to the view of American society that sleep is less a necessity and more an inconvenience. Society says the less you sleep, the more productive you can be—the more productive, the more honorable. The article by NPR labels this view of sleep as "The Sleepless Badge of Honor."

I recently spoke to my barber about Americans' perception of sleep, and he agreed that "The Sleepless Badge of Honor" is a dominant viewpoint among Americans. He also told me about what people in other countries think about Americans' productive drive depriving them of sleep. In Cuba, he said, he talked to his father-in-law about American work habits. He asked his father-in-law if the lack of electricity on his Cuban farm prevented him from getting work done. His father-in-law replied, "No," and said, in fact, that it didn't bother him at all—he woke up when the sun rose and got ready for bed when the sun went down. He didn't understand why you would want to work any later.

Compare the Cuban farmer's way of life with the thinking of a friend of mine. Living in Los Angeles, he's dead center in the fast-paced way of life. Recently, he commented that he is opting for the no-sleep weekend plan; this way, he said, he doesn't have to waste time with things like—you guessed it—sleeping.

So what can we do to help sleep improve its image? Is the positive publicity that sleep is getting doing any good? It is, and in fact, the article from NPR says Americans' view of sleep is in a transition period. NPR talked with Eve Van Cauter, PhD, a sleep researcher and professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. The article says, "Van Cauter believes we are in a period now very similar to where we were with smoking 20 years ago. She envisions a time 20 years from now, when knowledge, research, and even litigation (perhaps lawsuits against sleep-deprived drivers who cause accidents) will combine to change public perception, so that lack of sleep is finally seen as dangerous, not something to be proud of."

Right now, we are seeing more lawsuits and clinical research on the subject of sleep. As more of these suits and studies appear, the reputation of sleep will improve. As industry professionals, you are some of sleep's few advocates. How are you advocating for sleep? Feel free to contact me and let me know.

—Franklin A. Holman