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Almost one third of all American adults have trouble sleeping. While the recommended amount of sleep is 7 ½ to 8 hours, the average is 6 hours and 40 minutes and 20 percent sleep six hours or less. That is contributing to a various assortment of ills from impaired driving to hypertension to obesity. A new study in the September issue of the journal Sleep sampled 7,428 American employees and found that insomnia is more costly to the U.S. work place than previously thought: 252.7 days of work lost to insomnia in the U.S. or 11.3 days per worker surveyed. $63.2 Billion in lost productivity, or $2,280 per worker surveyed.

Pete Bils, vice-president of sleep innovation and clinical research at Select Comfort (the company that makes Sleep Number beds) offers these suggestions:
-Darken the bedroom as much as possible. Even a small amount of light can get into your optical system and disrupt your sleep, even when your eyes are closed.
-Make the bedroom comfortable for sleeping. Ideal conditions are 65 degrees and 65 percent humidity.
-Stop drinking caffeine at noon. Your body needs plenty of time to metabolize the caffeine you ingest.
-One hour before bedtime, stop using devices with screens – TV's computers, even cell phones.
-Go to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends.