By Dr. Patrick Zitt, DC, DNM, MS

Duration and quality of sleep is one of the most influential metrics of health. If you have found your way to this blog article, chances are you know you are not getting enough sleep and you are looking for a natural solution.

Read on to learn some interesting facts about herbs and their impact on your zzzz’s.

The Importance Of Sleep Quality

When we sleep, our body goes through a variety of processes that help us restore, rejuvenate, and prepare us for the day ahead. A lack of quality sleep can lead to a wide range of negative consequence.

In the short-term, poor sleep quality can lead to fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. It can also impact our immune system and influence blood sugar regulation.

In the long-term, chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to a range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease.

Good sleep quality is also important to mental health. When we sleep, our...

By Dr. Patrick Zitt, DC, DNM, MS

America is experiencing a sleep deprivation epidemic.

On average, we are getting 1.5-2 hours less sleep than we did just a mere 50 years ago.

While the majority of health experts agree that adults should clock in 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night, as a society, we are far from that goal. A shocking one-third of Americans do not get even the bare minimum amount of sleep needed to maintain their health.

• 8% get less than 5 hours of sleep each night
• 23% get about 6 hours of sleep
• 5% get 7 hours of sleep (bare minimum, though many may do better with more)
• 7% get 8 hours of sleep
• 8% get 9 hours or more

What makes these statistics worse is that they are based on self-reported sleep times. Studies have shown that self-reported sleep is almost always overestimated, with the grossest overestimations made by those getting the least amount of sleep.

According to the CARDIA Sleep Study

• Those that slept an average of 7 hours over reported by...