Clearly, timing our sleep schedules around the sun’s schedule isn’t always practical, but Marcella Frank, DO explains we certainly do need to hit the hay longer and more routinely, as research suggests there are long-term consequences from disrupting the body’s natural sleep-wake cycles. “When our sleep time isn’t synchronized with the internal rhythm of our hormones,” she says, “there’s an increase in many diseases for people who work shift work or for people who have insufficient sleep.”

Though sleep medicine as a specialty is only a few decades old, it offers useful insights into the biology of sleep and ways to get our bodies back on track to get the very best out of our days … and nights.

KYW’s Rasa Kaye talks with Dr. Frank at Deborah, to sort through the negative side effects of poor sleep, and the many ways we can improve our well-being by improving our sack time.