As many as 70 million Americans suffer from sleep deprivation, regularly getting fewer hours of sleep than they need. It’s affecting their physical and mental health and possibly even shortening their lives.

“There is plenty of compelling evidence that sleep is the most important predictor of how long you will live—perhaps more important than whether you smoke, exercise or have high blood pressure or cholesterol levels,” says Stanford University psychiatry professor William Dement.

Yet the average American is sleeping less—down from about 8.5 hours a night in 1960 to fewer than 7 today, reports The Journal of the American Medical Association. Many people are in bed only 5 to 6 hours a night on a regular basis.

Longer hours at work—and longer commutes—are what threaten sleep most, according to a new study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Moreover, once home, weary workers may unwisely choose TV or Internet surfing over a good night’s sleep.

Compromised sleep elevates stress hormones and impairs metabolism, which can lead to depression, obesity and life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, warns the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. A 2005 survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that a third of couples have problems in their relationships because of a partner’s abnormal sleep (usually snoring). Nearly a fourth say they flee to a different bed or room and that they are just too sleepy for sex.

Here are some tips to help you get the rest you really need.

Change Your Sleeping Habits

WHAT HELPS:

* Make your bedroom sleep-friendly—cool, dark, quiet, uncluttered. Go there only for sleep and/or sex—no TV, no computer, no reading in bed.
* Listen to calming music or a relaxation tape or CD before bed.
* Indulge in caffeine only in the morning. It can stay in your system for as long as 20 hours.
* Make sure your medications aren’t interfering with sleep. Some drugs prescribed for heart conditions, blood pressure, asthma and depression—as well as some over-the-counter remedies for coughs, colds or allergies—may interrupt your sleep. Ask your doctor about comparable substitutions for your medications.
* Sleeping pills. More than 40 million Americans now use prescription insomnia drugs to help them get a good night’s sleep. Your doctor can help you understand the benefits and risks of their use.

WHAT DOESN'T HELP:

* Alcohol. A drink before bed initially may sedate you, but it can disrupt sleep later in the night.
* Over-the-counter medications. While antihistamines might help you sleep, they can lead to daytime drowsiness and dry mouth.

Reset Your Body Clock

WHAT HELPS:

* Light therapy is a promising treatment for correcting a mixed-up body clock. Studies show that even an hour’s exposure to bright light early in the day—from the sun or a 10,000-lux light box—may help bring on sleep earlier in the night. And bright light later in the day may defer sleepiness by helping to suppress the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.

WHAT DOESN'T HELP:

* Sleeping in late to compensate for missed sleep. In fact, oversleeping just throws your body’s natural rhythms further out of sync.

Fix Your Snoring

WHAT HELPS:

* Losing 5 to 10 pounds can improve sleep-disordered breathing in most people.
* Bedmates of snorers may find relief in a good pair of noise-blocking earplugs or a loud fan.

WHAT DOESN'T HELP:

* Sleeping on your back. Your tongue can fall backward and partially block your throat, making a smaller passage for air.
* Sleep medications and drowsiness-inducing antihistamines can aggravate snoring.

Get Daytime Energy

WHAT HELPS:

* Taking a power nap. Research shows that a 10- to 30-minute nap (longer may make you drowsier) can recharge your batteries better than a shot of caffeine. A brisk walk in the sun also can help, reminding your body that it’s daytime and revving up your circulation.

WHAT DOESN'T HELP:

* Toughing it out. “You can’t adapt to sleep deprivation without a mental or physical toll,” says Harvard sleep researcher Robert Stickgold. So get some rest.
By Judi Dash, PARADE Magazine