Sleep Debt

VERN - What the hell is a sleep debt?

HOOT - It's when you don't get enough sleep over a long time.

VERN - So what's Anton been doing that he isn't sleeping?

HOOT - He's been chatting on his computer until late every night and his Mom gets him up early.

NANNY - When did Anton get a computer that can talk?

HOOT - No, it's like a telephone on the computer but you type messages instead of talking.

NANNY - Well that seems like it would take a forever, why not just use the telephone?

HOOT - Because you don't have to pay long distance to chat on the computer.

VERN - So who does Anton chat with?

HOOT - With me a lot until I go to bed and he's made friends all over the world.

NANNY - Well, if he's chatting with you it wouldn't be long distance to call. It certainly makes more sense for him to use the telephone.

HOOT - But he can chat with many people at the same time.

VERN - Boy needs to chat less and sleep more. Why the hell does he chat with you? He sees you every day at school and he's here every day too.

SAM - There's considerable debate among scientists about sleep debt. I believe it exists. Most people think that when you miss an hour of sleep all you have to do is sleep an extra hour another time. However, for each hour of lost sleep there's another hour of wakefulness. One actually has to sleep about an hour and twenty minutes to an hour and thirty minutes for each hour of lost sleep. Thus, one who routinely sleeps just six hours a night during the week and requires eight hours should probably sleep twelve to fourteen hours a night on the weekends. Further, someone with a long standing chronic habit of sleeping too few hours may need to take a vacation to get enough extra sleep to repay their sleep debt.

VERN - What did he say?

HOOT - He said leave Anton alone, it's OK if he takes a nap in the TV room.