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Solving the (lack of) sleep equation would be easier if I wasn't so tired

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I am in serious debt.

But instead of spending too much, I am, apparently, not spending enough.

The phrase "sleep debt" has uninvitedly injected itself into my vocabulary, thanks to the National Sleep Foundation and its second annual "Great American Sleep Challenge."

At which, I've discovered, I'm not so great.

According to a poll released in conjunction with the nonprofit's March campaign to promote healthy sleep habits, 65 percent of Americans report having problems sleeping each week, from difficulty falling asleep to waking up unrefreshed. Nearly the same percentage "just accept their sleepiness and keep going," according to an foundation press release. About a third of the 1,000 surveyed say they get a good night's sleep -- a few times a month.

Like the majority of the poll respondents, I know getting consecutive nights of eight hours of sleep is the stuff of dreams. But unlike the majority of you, I don't have children or work shifts that demand a life of uber-late nights.

My lack of sleep is frequently the result of my own choices, most of which revolve around my love of to-do lists, or more specifically, my love of checking stuff off my to-do list. I'll stay up late for the bizarre joy of knowing I've finished all the laundry. I'll get up early for the freakish satisfaction of thinking I didn't waste over-ripe bananas because I was able to bake them into a loaf of freshly made banana bread. (Sometimes, I'll write down tasks I've finished, just so I can check them off. Yes, I'm that girl.)

When I moved to Bluffton, I was sure my hurried pace of life -- and the extensive to-do list that came with it -- would evaporate. For years, I'd lived in metropolitan areas, and I reflexively blamed my 45-minute commute to the office and frantic city life as the sources of all my troubles. As if having that extra time would have meant more hours to rest.

I have a 5-minute commute to the office now, and I'm still a sleep idiot.

At least, that's what I've gathered from trying out the "Great American Sleep Challenge." The press release I read made it seem so easy: Just go online and play some games about sleep. The National Sleep Foundation would spell out how I could get in my requisite eight hours of nightly slumber, from A to long-lost Zzzz.

Instead, I played the "Recreate Your Bedroom" activity and found the virtual representation of my bedroom made me a "so-so sleeper" (apparently, the National Sleep Foundation likes to judge you). I lost points for my daily two cups of coffee -- my consumption of the sweet nectar of life has well over the 200 mg. of caffeine in a dose of maximum strength No-Doz. Paying bills and watching TV just before bedtime also cost me the chance to be a "sleep savvy sage." And I don't keep a humidifier to purge allergens from my bedroom air.

I'm a sleep loser.

Then I took a battery of quizzes that told me my sleep IQ was deficient. Did you know studies show being awake for 18 hours results in performance impairment equal to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, the legal limit for drunken driving in most states? Or that it takes 30 minutes for that jolt from a caffeinated soda to kick in? Or that insomnia isn't just characterized by difficulty going to sleep, but also by waking up too early?

Me, neither.

Then the foundation's Web site taught me about "sleep debt": a person's accumulated amount of lost sleep. If, for example, we need eight hours of sleep a night, sleeping six hours each night for a week will create a sleep debt of 14 hours.

I'm thinking my total sleep debt is hovering around 1,849,712 hours.

All this information made me feel anxious -- a state of mind which the foundation says can contribute to poor sleep. No, the irony hasn't escaped me.

On the upside, the "Great American Sleep Challenge" has got me thinking. While I never considered sleep optional, I'm realizing I need to make it more of a priority.

Maybe I'll start putting it on my to-do list.

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