How you’d sleep last night? There’s a hefty chance it was not so good. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of the American public is suffering from insomnia. Whether this number sounds like a lot or a total understatement probably depends on whether you’re the one tossing and turning at night. Insomnia can make everyday life hard—that is, difficult to function during the day at work and scary to get behind the wheel of a car. In addition to fatigue, too little sleep impacts mental and physical health in a variety of less immediate ways, making us more likely to be depressed, sick and overweight.
For years, doctors have been telling sleep-deprived patients to practice to good sleep hygiene, for example, cutting back on coffee, nicotine, alcohol, naps and bouts of vigorous exercise right before bedtime; and creating a cool, quiet, dark and comfortable sleep environment in the bedroom. If those commonsense recommendations don’t do the trick, there are high-tech tools that offer some relief—for a price.