Sleep researcher Dr. James B. Maas of Cornell University will present the address "Power Sleep and Peak Performance" at Hope College on Tuesday, April 16, at 11 a.m. in the DeWitt Center main theatre.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
According to Maas, 43 percent of adults are moderately to severely sleep deprived, causing reduced concentration, productivity and quality of work, as well as an increase in moodiness, accidents and stress. He also notes that healthy sleep has been proven to be the single most important determinant in predicting longevity, more influential than diet, exercise or heredity.
His multi-media presentation will examine topics including why most adults are sleep-deprived; the consequences for thinking, performance and lifespan; the importance of the different stages of sleep; the need for eight hours of sleep per night; whether or not napping is healthy; and what causes insomnia. He will also present strategies for sleeping well.
Maas is professor and past chair of the department of psychology, and the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University. He teaches introductory psychology to 1,500 students each year in the nation's largest single lecture class.
He conducts research on the psychophysiology of sleep. He has produced nine national television specials for PBS, and his films have won 42 major film festivals. His "New York Times" best seller, "Power Sleep," is published by Random House (hardcover) and Harper Collins (paperback).
He lectures around the nation. His clients include the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the World Presidents Organization (WPO), IBM, Holiday Inns, Eastman Kodak, Pepsi-Cola, Apple Computer, Caterpillar Tractor, Seagrams, Cunard Line, S.C. Johnson Wax, Tambrands, The American and Canadian Societies of Association Executives, and MCI/Universal Studios. He makes frequent television appearances on programs such as "NBC Nightly News," "Prime Time Live," "Today," "Good Morning America," ABC's "20/20" and "Oprah."
Maas has held a Fulbright Senior Professorship to Sweden, has been a visiting professor at Stanford University and is past-president of the American Psychological Association's Division on Teaching. He received the Clark Award for Distinguished Teaching at Cornell and the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Teaching Award.
He received his B.A. from Williams College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell.
Maas' presentation at Hope is sponsored by the college's department of psychology, and co-sponsored by the Health Dynamics program and department of nursing. While on campus he will also be speaking during a college-sponsored breakfast for area business people.
The DeWitt Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street.