Larry Summers Snoozes
It appears that Larry Summers might be suffering from sleep apnea.
“Also, Summers seems to have a mild narcoleptic issue. He fell asleep during a White House economic forum this past February. The New Republic reported recently that “Summers functions on exceedingly little sleep…. To power through the day, Summers relies on a punishing Diet Coke regimen. The combination of fatigue and extreme caffeine intake can produce the occasional verbal and physical tic: Summers is a chronic foot-tapper and sometimes turns over words and clauses like an engine that won’t start.” (Huffington Post)
It’s fun to make fun of people who fall asleep at inappropriate times, but sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or whatever you call it can lead to serious health issues.
Sleep apnea is caused when the airway collapses during sleep. When this happens, your brain wakes you up so you can get air. This may happen more or less unconsciously 100’s of times a night. You really never get into deep sleep.
Sleep deprivation is in the news as a form of torture. Sleep deprivation can have serious long term consequences such as:
- a weakened immune system
- diabetes (the body cannot process sugar properly)
- depression
- high blood pressure
- obesity
Only a qualified doctor cant tell for sure, but he certainly exhibits some of the classic signs of sleep apnea.
Let’s hope that Larry Summers takes some time off to get a sleep study and gets some treatment for his sleep disorder.
For more information about sleep apnea check here.
Tags: Health, Larry Summers, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Disorder
