UPDATED: Sleep and Happiness

I practically never watch on television "60 Minutes," but this week's edition was a highly entertaining, edifying and thought-provoking one. (If you'd like, you can even catch the whole episode as an audio podcast.)

Firstly, "The Science of Sleep"... We all know that we don't feel our best if we don't get a good night's sleep, but is it really that important? This segment suggests that even the slight sleep-deprivation we tend to experience in the early 21st century may lead to premature aging and even pre-diabetes. It's not to be missed!

• Science Of Sleep Part 1 (13:01)
• Science Of Sleep Part 2 (12:36)

Last but not least, the science of Happiness... In a widely-reported 2006 survey of Leicester University in England, the United States of America ranked only 23rd in "happiness," while Denmark ranked first! What are they doing right that we Americans may be missing? Watch to see...

• The Pursuit Of Happiness (12:05)

UPDATED (6/17): I had no sooner posted about the science of sleep then posts on napping innundated the internet, inspired by the Boston Globe's extensive cheatsheet on how to nap!

A big roundup of nap-news at zzzzzzzzzzzz | MetaFilter!