Better Sleep = Better health

As someone who rises at 4:15 a.m., Monday - Friday (5:30 on weekends), articles on sleep are of interest to me.
The Star-Ledger had an interesting article about it recently, quoting extensively from Mark Mahowald, a Minneapolis-based sleep expert.
It is estimated that 70 million Americans are sleep deprived - yes, I am one of them. Among the reasons: we're overcaffeinated (my hand is raised again) and often, over-medicated, from prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
We are also over-wired from all of our new-fangled electronic devices, and overstressed over finances, work, relationships, and a host of other reasons.
Mr. Mahowald also feels that people have made the amount of sleep they need "negotiable, rather than a biological imperative."
Sleep deprivation can lead to a number of problems, ranging from irritability, forgetfulness, decreased productivity in the classroom, workplace, or athletic field; or at worst, a greater likelihood of car accidents.
Results of numerous sleep studies show that most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night. There is a genetic component to it: some can function on as little as four hours a night, while others need as much as ten.
Mr. Mahowald notes that anyone who uses an alarm clock "is, by definition, sleep deprived, because if the brain had received the amount of sleep it wanted, you would have woken up before the alarm went off."
Some people are naturally "night people, or owls", and others are "day people, or larks." I used to work evenings, and stay up till about 2 a.m., waking up at about 7:30 a.m. Now, I'm a "lark", going to sleep about 9:30 p.m. and waking up well before dawn. Putting aside that I am in a less-stressful work enviornment, I feel healthier with the "early to bed, early to rise" routine.
Medically, insomnia results in a poorer quality of life, and can lead to depression. Conversely, depression often causes insomnia, making matters even worse!
There are also links to Diabetes and heart disease, particularly in those affected by sleep apnea.
Tips for better sleep include avoiding late dinners and drinking, turning off the TV and radio, keeping the room dark, and winding down physically and emotionally before bed. I would add that if you have one bad night sleeping, don't over-think it. Just try to get a normal amount the following evening, and you will be caught up. The multiple nights of little or no sleep are the killers!
Previous to a recent mini-vacation we took in Charleston, I hadn't slept past 6:30 a.m. in the past 15 years. Lo and behold, on vacation one morning, I kept thinking that I was waking up in the middle of the night and just stayed in bed. When I finally got up, I looked at the clock, and it was 8:40 a.m. Maybe my body needed the sleep!