Overview
- A U.S. National Center for Health Statistics report shows 30.5% of adults sleep under seven hours per night and that nearly 20% have trouble staying asleep while 15.4% struggle to fall asleep.
- Research links habitual short sleep, especially under six hours, to higher rates of hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cognitive decline, and to worse mood, concentration and reaction times.
- Common drivers of poor sleep cited in the coverage include long work hours, stress, caregiving duties and late-night use of screens that emit blue light and suppress melatonin.
- Sleep specialist Pablo Ferrero recommends aiming for seven to eight hours, using short naps of about 26 minutes, keeping the bedroom cool (around 19–21°C) and dark, reducing blue light, testing mattresses for 15–20 minutes and choosing ergonomic pillows and breathable bedding.
- While these measures can lower sleep debt and reduce accident and disease risk, experts warn that social and work conditions often limit people’s ability to follow them, so broader changes in schedules and workplace culture may be needed to improve population sleep health.