Sleep is a growth industry, for sure. People crave more and more of it. Seven in 10 adults get less than seven hours of sleep each night, and most of them need more. Our global economy awakens people from dreamland, too. Jet lag’s a sleep killer, as are the odd hours some must keep to stay in phone contact with far-flung markets.

And so, getting into the sleep business now would almost guarantee success. Good news, Spokane. We already have a state-of-the-art sleep lab here. The sleep research center at Washington State University in Spokane has attracted top-flight researchers, and they’re busy at work. For instance, research subjects are purposely kept awake for stretches of 36 hours and longer to better understand the effects of sleep deprivation on the professions that sometimes require it.

The sleep lab has great potential to grow jobs and benefit the economy here. It’s just one more example of employment diversification at work.

In the 1980s, the Inland Northwest struggled to make the transition from a mining-timber-manufacturing economy. Those leading the transition articulated this goal: Let’s attract many different kinds of businesses, professions and economic opportunities to Eastern Washington and North Idaho. They knew what happens when communities rely too much on one source of jobs. Seattle and Boeing Co., for instance, were like a contentious longtime married couple whose ups and downs rippled throughout the entire community.

Individuals are always advised to diversify their financial portfolios with investments that range from low- to moderate- to high-risk. Communities need that same sort of risk mix. We’re getting there.

The sleep center, for instance, is a low-risk enterprise, because our economy grows more global by the minute, and the need to understand sleep deprivation will grow more urgent, too. Retail and tourism are moderately risky, because an economic downturn closes pocketbooks to discretionary spending. But both are booming now, especially in North Idaho. The under-construction Cabela’s in Post Falls considers itself both a sporting goods store and a tourist destination.

On the higher-risk side, BlueRay Technologies Inc., is opening a production facility in downtown Spokane. The company manufactures Blu-ray discs, a technology in competition with HD DVDs. Cutting-edge technology always faces marketplace uncertainty. Remember eight-track tape players and movies on Betamax?

Those who worked toward the goal of economic diversification – way back in the economic gloom-doom days of the 1980s – should rest on their laurels. But don’t rest too long. There are dozens of other businesses out there that could become part of the Inland Northwest’s exciting economic mix.