Harvard Heart Letter examines the costs of not getting enough sleep

Boston , MA —Beyond making you drowsy, not getting enough sleep night after night can contribute to a variety of health problems. The August issue of the Harvard Heart Letter examines the connection between sleep and disease and offers practical tips to achieving a good night's rest.

A recent survey by the National Sleep Foundation suggests that about half of American adults borrow from sleep to get more work done, watch late-night television, or surf the Internet. Our national average was around 9-10 hours of sleep per night a century ago, but has fallen to under 7 hours today. The amount of sleep needed varies from person to person, but the Harvard Heart Letter notes that for most people, eight hours seems to be about right.