How much sleep is necessary? What happens if I don’t get enough? Can I bank sleep for the future or make up for insufficient sleep during the week by sleeping longer on the weekend? Will I gain weight if I don’t sleep enough? What food will help me to sleep better?
Trying to Get Enough Sleep Is Keeping Me Up at Night
“About 50 to 70 million Americans have sleep disorders, and 1 in 3 adults do not regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep they need to protect their health,” according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blook Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Sleep is everywhere in the news lately, but it’s hard to figure out what to believe about how to improve our sleep. When we’re trying to understand the ways in which sleep and sleep hygiene affect our health, there are a few resources we trust to give us the latest information.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Sleep and Sleep Disorders Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a place to start. Its mission is to raise awareness of the impact of sleep health on the public’s health and safety. According to the CDC, “About one-third of U.S. adults and children (under 14) and three-quarters of high schoolers do not get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep is linked to increased risk of anxiety, depression, obesity, heart disease, injury, and other serious conditions.” The CDC promotes “sleep health through research and surveillance, public and provider education, clinical guidance, and traffic safety education.” You may not realize that drowsy driving is as dangerous as drunk driving.
On its website, you can find the chart identifying the recommended hours of sleep based on age, as well as tips for better sleep. The CDC also offers a list of other sleep resources.
2. American Academy of Sleep Medicine
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is the place to look for facts on specific issues. You will find a wide variety of information, from articles discussing the best movies in which sleep plays a major part (think A Nightmare on Elm Street and Inception) to the causes and effects of snoring.
There are plenty of blogs on sleep. So many, in fact, that there are blogs devoted solely to listing the best sleep blogs. Many such blogs and lists are by manufacturers of different sleep products. Always check out any information with a recognized source, including your doctor, particularly before taking any medicines or utilizing any medical devices.
3. National Sleep Foundation
The National Sleep Foundation, founded in 1990, is “dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy.” Since 1991, the National Sleep Foundation has conducted the Sleep in America® Poll “exploring the powerful link between sleep health and an individual’s ability to flourish in life.” Read the 2025 poll results, which show that you’re not alone if you’re having trouble falling or staying asleep. The National Sleep Foundation releases its poll at the beginning of Sleep Awareness Week in March of every year.
4. Books, Blogs, and Podcasts on Sleep
There are plenty of books, blogs, and podcasts on the topic of sleep. One book that consistently makes lists of the best books on sleep is Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD., Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, which was first published in 2017. The New York Times Review approved of Walker’s “suggestions for more healthful sleep habits” such as establishing a regular bedtime and wake time, even on weekends.
There are so many blogs on sleep that there are blogs devoted solely to listing the best sleep blogs. Many such blogs and lists are by manufacturers of different sleep products. Always check out any information with a recognized source, including your doctor, particularly before taking any medicines or utilizing any medical devices. You can find blogs and articles on sleep through sleep center websites such as Harvard Health Publishing and Johns Hopkins’ Healthy Sleep portal. If you prefer to listen, the Sleep Research Society (SRS) hosts a podcast featuring the latest research from SRS members all of whom are engaged in sleep research. Topics range from “Weekend Catchup Sleep” to “Wearable Technology.”
5. Sleep Health Professionals
Although informing yourself about sleep with the resources we’ve identified can be beneficial, only a sleep health professional can diagnose and treat sleep apnea, insomnia, snoring, and other sleep disorders. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has a Sleep Center Directory that can help you locate a sleep center in your area. A medical team led by a sleep doctor can identify your sleep problem using a sleep study or home sleep apnea test and help you decide which treatment is best for you.
6. When Your Question Is Bedding, the Team at down etc Has the Answer
We knew it all along, but now the research is in. The bed is the key to hotel guests’ satisfaction with their lodging experiences. J.D. Power, in its North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index [NAGSI] Study, released on July 24, 2019, concluded, “quality of sleep is one of the most important components of a hotel guest experience” and two of the biggest contributors to quality sleep are the “comfort/quality of pillows” and the “comfort/quality of linens.” In its 2025 report, in which J.D. Power notes that although the average daily rate for a U.S. hotel room has climbed to a record high, guests feel they are getting a better value for their money. They find the “key drivers of that improved perception of value are higher satisfaction with guest rooms, including condition, cleanliness and room amenities such as in-room smart TVs.” That’s why our team never forgets its foundation in creating a comfortable and hygienic bed. It's what we have built our reputation on.
We put our knowledge into a book, Roll Into a Perfectly Made Bed: All You Need to Know About the Art of Bedmaking is divided into twelve chapters with a few extras and a handy glossary of terms at the back. The first eight chapters address elements of the bed from the bottom up, bedframe to comforter cover. The book continues with chapters devoted to elements of a perfectly made bed that may not be instantly apparent, from the way in which the sheets should be laundered to the way the sheets should be changed to protect the bed maker’s back. Roll Into a Perfectly Made Bed can be read straight through from cover to cover or the table of contents can be searched for elements of interest.
Although we love knowledge for the sake of knowledge, we hope you will use our blogs and these sources to have a great night’s sleep! -Team at down etc Read more:
Is Drowsy Driving as Dangerous as Drunk Driving?
Is Snoring Affecting Your Sleep?
About down etc
For over twenty years, down etc has worked with hoteliers and professional housekeepers in hotels around the world to manufacture and provide pillows and bedding that will offer hotel guests memorably great sleep. Through our retail website, we seek to provide products that will result in the same quality sleep for our customers at home. We believe in the restorative power of a great night’s sleep, whether at home or away. That’s the reason down etc wrote the book on it, Roll Into a Perfectly Made Bed: All You Need to Know About the Art of Bedmaking.
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