Get your beauty sleep or you may be upping your risk for hypertension, diabetes, premature aging & more

Sleep deficiency and poor sleep quality are widely underestimated as major causes of health problems and mortality. They are not only related to daytime sleepiness, poor memory and decreased ability to concentrate, but to more serious outcomes as well, such as increased car crashes (1.2 million car crashes in the U.S. each year are related to drowsiness), and a multitude of permanent adverse health effects such as increased heart problems, degenerative effects on brain function, premature aging and weight gain. Statistics show that at least 50-70 million people in the U.S. have a sleep disorder. A Gallup poll suggests that as much as 40 percent of Americans get less than the recommended sleep time. Sleep times averaged 7.9 hours in 1942. This number has steadily decreased to 6.8 hours in the 1990s and 2000s.

Simple tips to catch your Zzz’s

It's a cruel joke. You're exhausted, you pulled a 14-hour day, you know you should be passing out – and yet, you can't sleep. Again. Chronic insomnia plagues millions of Americans. Addictions to tablets, phones, caffeinated coffee and teas, late-night Game of Thrones binges, work martyrdom, bad news on television, and chronically worrying about your children/love life/paycheck/waist size allcontribute to the problem. In short, everyone seems to be sabotaging their sleep like nobody’s business.