O'Connor, Anahad. (June 22, 2004) the Claim: Term Paper

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O'Connor, Anahad. (June 22, 2004) "The Claim: Too Much Sleep Is Bad for You." The New York Times. Science & Health Section. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/22/health/22REAL.html

It's hard to believe, but this article councils the reader that getting more than seven hours of sleep may be hazardous to his or her health. "A 2002 study found that getting more than seven hours of sleep each night was associated with a shorter life span. Several studies since then, including one this year by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, also found a link," between poor health and getting more than seven hours of sleep a night.

Thus, the article makes vague reference to several studies pointing to such a correlation, but only provides specific information on one particular 2002 study. This "2002 study examined data on more than a million Americans over the age of 30 between 1982 and 1988." The article, however, does not state why the study was limited to compiling data only about individuals over the age of thirty, given that individuals below this age might be more apt to 'cheat' on sleep -- such as college and high school students -- or have less of a risk of health problems. Nor does the article state that the study gradated the analysis regarding hours of sleep logged also according to age, which might screen out health and lifestyle differences between, for instance, a thirty and an eighty-year-old. It does not even state that the information was gathered solely from individuals in good health, although the population of a million is significantly large in number, to screen out some possible non-sleep related factors.

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The study found that "the risk of dying in that period climbed as subjects went above seven hours of sleep. Those who averaged eight hours a night, the study found, had a 12% increased chance of death. Other researchers have also found that life expectancy declines as sleep falls below seven hours, but not as steeply as it does with eight hours or more." However, the research does not take into consideration that those who 'make time' for above-average levels of sleep may have depression, less social obligations and connections, or may be unemployed and thus lack appropriate health insurance, thus putting them at risk. The article does admit that "most sleep experts are reluctant to draw conclusions because the findings are based on correlations, which cannot show cause and effect," and that people who sleep longer may have illnesses that cause fatigue and earlier death, and that the study shows that those "averaging more than seven hours of sleep a night is associated with a shorter life span, though whether poor health or too much sleep accounts for the link is unclear." However, overall the data compiled in the study seems fuzzy at best.

Article 2: Kolata, Gina. (June 23, 2004) "10 Million Women Who Lack a Cervix Still Get Pap Tests." Science & Health Section. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/health/23PAP.final.html?pagewanted=print&position=

This article discusses a potentially divisive malpractice issue regarding an unnecessary medical procedure. According to a new study, ten million women who have had hysterectomies and who no longer have a cervix are still getting Pap tests. The nature of a screening….....

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