Better Sleep Month Archives

Is Better Sleep the Key to a Better Life?

This is a wake-up call! May is Better Sleep Month—a good time to lie down and take a moment to think about your sleep habits, how well you sleep and what you could do to improve the one third of your life that affects the other two thirds of your life in dramatic ways. Study after study has confirmed the importance good sleep plays in good health and feeling good each day. When you think of self-care, getting enough quality sleep is just as important—if not more important—than good nutrition and exercise. In honor of this special month, here are some eye-opening stats about sleep: Roughly 20% of Americans have a sleep disorder—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls insufficient sleep a public heath epidemic. About 87% of high school students in the U.S. are chronically sleep deprived, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Nearly 40% of people unintentionally fell asleep during the day at least once in the preceding month, an American Sleep Association study found. An estimated 100,000 deaths occur each year in U.S. hospitals due to medical errors, reports the National Academy of Medicine. Sleep deprivation has been shown to be a contributing factor. The [...]

By Helen Sullivan|2023-05-15T17:25:29-04:00May 15, 2023|

May Is Better Sleep Month: New Research Reveals COVID-19’s Influence

2020 was a year that most of us wish we could have slept through — and it looks like we gave it a good try, with more of us buying new beds and bedding, according to a new consumer survey commissioned by the Better Sleep Council (BSC). The BSC has been focusing our attention on the importance of good sleep for decades, establishing Better Sleep Month in May 1985. Since then, it has conducted many consumer surveys, but the BSC’s most recent poll reflected some interesting changes in people’s sleep and mattress preferences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few particularly notable findings in the survey, which focused on recent mattress buyers and consumers planning to purchase a mattress: We value our sleep more than ever. A majority (75%) agree that a good night’s sleep is important to their health, placing it above regular medical checkups (69%), stress management (65%), a healthy diet (62%) and physical exercise (58%) on the priority scale. A few of us are sleeping better, but ... One in three respondents say that the stresses and turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on their rest, citing concerns about the economy, political [...]

By Helen Sullivan|2021-08-19T09:05:54-04:00April 29, 2021|

7 Eye-Opening Stats for Better Sleep Month 2019

May was established as Better Sleep Month in 1985. In the decades since, study after study has confirmed the importance good sleep plays in good health and feeling good each day. When you think of self-care, getting enough quality sleep is just as important—if not more important—than good nutrition and exercise. In honor of this special month, here are some eye-opening stats about sleep: Roughly 20% of Americans have a sleep disorder—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls insufficient sleep a public heath epidemic. About 87% of high school students in the U.S. are chronically sleep deprived, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Nearly 40% of people unintentionally fell asleep during the day at least once in the preceding month, an American Sleep Association study found. An estimated 100,000 deaths occur each year in U.S. hospitals due to medical errors, reports the National Academy of Medicine. Sleep deprivation has been shown to be a contributing factor. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving was responsible for 72,000 crashes; 44,000 injuries; and 800 deaths in 2013. The American Psychology Association says sleeping 60 to 90 minutes more each night can improve happiness and health. Insufficient sleep [...]

By Helen Sullivan|2019-05-20T13:24:13-04:00May 20, 2019|

How Long Can You Live Without Sleep?

How long can you live without water? About a week. How long can you live without food? About 40–70 days. How long can you live without sleep? About 11 days—and even then, researchers say during that long a period, you would probably nod off without even knowing it, getting a moment here and there of microsleep. How do we know 11 days is the maximum humans can be sleep deprived and survive? In 1965, Randy Gardner was a high school student in San Diego figuring out what to do for a science fair. He decided to set a world record for going without sleep. He did – and lived to tell the tale. Water. Food. Sleep. This is the triad of what is needed for physical survival. The Better Sleep Council, the group that established Better Sleep Month in 1985, recommends five ways to focus on sleep this month and get a better night’s rest: Avoid eating too much or drinking alcohol before bed. If you eat too much, an active digestion system sabotages sleep. And while wine or a cocktail can seemingly help you fall asleep, sleep experts say it may rob you of the deep quality sleep [...]

By Helen Sullivan|2019-05-31T09:58:14-04:00May 3, 2018|

Can Stress Make You Sleep Less?

It’s Better Sleep Month. This is a good time to focus on what’s standing in the way of getting your best rest. In our fast-paced, 24/7 world, with smartphones notifying us of every text and email, it isn’t easy to turn off the noise—literally and figuratively—and get to sleep. And, the cruel joke is that the less you sleep, the less likely you are to be able to cope with the problems creating stress in the first place. Talk about a vicious cycle. Now is a good time to re-evaluate and try some strategies to reduce stress and get the sleep you need. Here are a few tips to break the cycle: Don’t bring work into your bedroom. Make the place where you sleep a safe haven from the day’s angst. Turn off your phone. OK, maybe that’s impractical if you need to be available for a family emergency, but most phones can be set to ring only for designated callers. Get into a bedtime routine. Whether it’s a book, a warm shower, hot cocoa or gentle stretches, try to do the same things in the same order each night as a way to train your body to wind down. Take a [...]

By Helen Sullivan|2019-05-30T15:56:24-04:00May 1, 2017|