According to the CDC, a third of US adults report that they don’t get adequate sleep (less than 7 hours per night). Night-shift workers, especially those in logistics, transportation and healthcare, are at the highest risk of sleep deprivation. Those who work more than 40 hours per week are more likely to be sleep deprived as well.

But when we don’t prioritize sleep, what do we really lose?

As it turns out, a whole lot.

Did you know that even a moderately sleep deprived person will have 50% slower response time than someone who is under the influence of alcohol (Sleep.org)?

In one study, 39.7% of participants reported falling asleep unintentionally in the last 30 days (Medscape). Now imagine that person is your doctor, nurse or a truck driver while they’re at work.

Furthermore, sleep deprivation is estimated to have cost American companies over 60 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR in lost productivity. In fact, sleeping less than six hours a night is the #1 predictor of burn-out (Sleep.org).

With our increased dependency (read: addiction) to technology, as well as our work-around-the-clock ethos, Americans have become accustomed to devaluing sleep. It’s something that Ariana Huffington takes pretty seriously. She discusses the importance of sleep in her book The Sleep Revolution:

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So, how do we fix our sleep deprivation? Check out these natural ways to improve sleep!