Sleep is essential to be a functioning human—that is no mystery—and the matter of whether people get enough of it has been a recent topic of conversation. On Thursday, we reported on a study that found adequate sleep is essential for academic success among elementary school students. And on Monday, Kentucky Educational Television will air a documentary that examines the health risks of sleep deprivation and ways people can sleep better.Phillip Bale, a primary care physician in Glasgow, Ky., will be a guest during the documentary. He recently told WFPL that a majority of Americans, regardless of age, are sleep-deprived.“Sleep is literally food for the brain,” he said.Bale said studies show that a lack of sleep is detrimental to children’s educational attainment and for everyone's overall quality of life. These studies, he said, should be enough to cause people to think about sleep differently.The documentary “Sleepless in Kentucky,"airs on KET at 10 p.m. Monday.For more information, go here.Sleep was also the topic of a recent in-depth look by WNYC, a public radio station in New York series.The reporters at WNYC took an in-depth look at sleep and discovered some interesting information.For example, screens—like the ones on computers or smartphones—are not good for sleep.
