Americans don’t get enough sleep. That’s what Dr. Louis A. Tartaglia, Board Certified, Sleep Medicine Specialist at the Toledo Clinic, told The Drew Mariani Show. “Americans don’t sleep the way the rest of the world does,” Tartaglia said, they “work all the way through the day, and they eat at the end of the day. And so they don’t sleep as well.”

Natural Sleep Patterns

The rest of the world eats their big meal in the middle of the day and then takes a nap. According to Tartaglia, the primitive man would hunt for food at the beginning of the day, cook, eat, and then take an afternoon nap. “That’s the way God designed you to sleep.”

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

The number of hours of sleep one needs depends on age. For example, a child, Tartaglia said, needs nine to ten hours, an 18-year-old needs almost eight hours fifteen minutes, and by the time someone reaches 25, he or she needs about seven and a half. Some, though, are naturally short sleepers, “There’s a couple of surgeons…where I live, and they get by on four hours and they function beautifully,” the doctor said.

Sleep Aids and Hacks

While medications might be helpful to some, Dr. Tartalgia recommends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI). “The five-year outcome with CBTI is much better than the five-year outcome with medications.” The doctor also recommended sleeping without light pollution.

Food and drink might also play a part in sleep quality. For example, alcohol might help someone fall asleep, but, Tartaglia said, “it wakes you back up and you get the reverse effect.” The doctor also said gluten might prevent people from sleeping well. “I have a couple of narcolepsy patients that when they eliminate gluten from their diets, their wakefulness improves.”

Whether it’s when you sleep, how you sleep, or what helps you to sleep, getting enough sleep is vital to your health!

To catch the whole conversation, click here.