Do you get eight hours of sleep a night? If not, join the millions of sleep-deprived Americans stumbling through life half-awake. Scientists say our national sleep debt may be behind the epidemics of diabetes and obesity ? maybe even cancer. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why you'll lose if you don't snooze. Also, listening to your dreams ? they could save your life. And poems for and by insomniacs.

Why do we sleep? No-one really knows, but neuro-scientist Bob Stickgold tells Jim Fleming about his ideas concerning sleep and why it's important. Also, poet Lisa Russ Spaar tells Jim about her book "Acquainted with the Night" - an anthology of verse about insomnia, or written by insomniacs. And we hear samples!

Eve Van Cauter is a sleep researcher at the University of Chicago. She tells Steve Paulson that her findings link sleep deprivation with diabetes and obesity. Also, journalist and writer Mark Barasch tells Anne Strainchamps about the dreams he claims saved his life. His book is "Healing Dreams."

Social historian Bryan Palmer is the author of "Cultures of Darkness." He tells Steve Paulson how some population groups have found refuge and freedom in the night, from enslaved Africans to religious heretics and jazz musicians.

Distribution dates:

• week of 02/17/2002 - hour 1
• week of 02/18/2001 - hour 1