The professor behind the 'power nap,' James Maas, dies at 86
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James Moss, a psychologist and sleep researcher, died last week at the age of 86. He spent decades teaching at Cornell University, studying the link between sleep and human health. You have to value sleep because sleep is the best predictor of general health and longevity, as well as being essential for learning, for problem solving.

That's Moss speaking with NPR back in 2003. If you want to be a good athlete, if you want to be a good golfer, if you want to be a good pianist and you need hand-eye coordination, hand-foot coordination,

All those connections are formed very late in the night in stage 2 sleep and in REM sleep. So that's my problem. Moss often spoke about how Americans do not get enough sleep. And his research linked sleep deprivation to a range of health issues like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and stress. He told NPR that even a little drowsiness can be dangerous.

They don't notice it when they're at work if the adrenaline is rushing. But the minute they go back to the office to sit down or they, God forbid, get behind the wheel of a car, you can have a sleep seizure in a second going from having your eyes wide open to your thinking brain totally turned off within 80 feet of driving. And that's why we have...

a tremendous number of car accidents due to drowsy driving. Moss co-wrote the 1998 bestseller Power Sleep, the revolutionary program that prepares your mind for peak performance. It helped popularize the term power nap, and Moss jokingly said it helped people sleep better. And as my students know here, the world's greatest cure for insomnia these days is to read Power Sleep. Any two pages...

You've told me we'll put you right out. That's a clip from a lecture that Moss gave at Cornell University where he taught for almost 50 years. He lectured to more than 65,000 students while there, touting the benefits of good health. If you learn nothing else, I want you to know, obviously, that sleep is a necessity. It's not a luxury. It is the quantity and quality of your sleep that in large measure is going to determine your success in your waking life.

That was Professor James Moss. He died last week at the age of 86.