Introduction

As sleep is increasingly recognized as a key pillar of a balanced and healthy lifestyle, this awareness ironically comes at a time when the rates of insufficient quantity and quality of sleep are steadily increasing. There is substantial evidence that there are negative consequences to habitual “short sleep,” defined as sleeping <6 h per night [1]. There appears to be a particularly strong relationship between short sleep and the health span, in particular with respect to negative cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes. For example, a number of studies have demonstrated strong associations between sleep duration and obesity across all age groups [2, 3]. There are also a number of common sleep disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnea, that have major public health consequences [4], including increased motor vehicle accidents [5], higher likelihood of depression/anxiety [6], greater risk for insulin resistance/obesity, altered appetite control [3], and cardiovascular morbidity [7]. The pervasive impacts of sleep on societal health underscore the need for improved understanding and treatments for sleep disorders.