You're tired. You could put your head down on a desk right now and fall asleep immediately. You went to bed late last night, had trouble falling asleep and woke up too early. And let's not kid ourselves: Tonight will be the same unless ... well, read on.

    This is the classic not-so-shut-eye experience of many Americans who think they are sleep-deprived and possibly need pills or other treatment to fix their insomnia, teeth grinding, jet lag, restless or jerky legs, snoring, sleepwalking and so forth.

    Reality is quite different.

    For instance, insomnia is said to be the most common sleep disorder, but these dissatisfying sleep experiences only get in the way of daily activities for 10 percent of us, according to the National Institutes of health. And in almost half of those cases, the real underlying problem is illness (often mental) or the effects of a substance, like Coffee or medication.

    Here are five recent findings that might help you rest easier:

    1. We sleep better than we think we do

    For most of us, sleep deprivation is a myth. We're not zombies. The non-profit National Sleep Foundation (which takes money from the sleep-aid industry, including drug companies that make sleeping pills) says the average U.S. resident gets 7 hours a night and that's not enough, but a University of Maryland study earlier this year shows we typically get 8 hours and are doing fine. In fact, Americans get just as much sleep nowadays as they did 40 years ago, the study found.

    2. We need less sleep as we age

    We'll die without sleep. The details are sketchy, but research suggests it's a time when we restore vital biological processes and also sort and cement memories. Last year, the World health Organization determined that nightshift work, which can lead to sleep troubles, is a probable human carcinogen. On the upside, the latest research suggests we need less of it as we get older.

    3. You can sleep like a baby (or Thomas Edison)

    Multiple, shorter sleep sessions nightly, rather than one long one, are an option. So-called polyphasic sleep is seen in babies, the elderly and other animals (and Thomas Edison reportedly slept this way). For the rest of us, it is more realistic and healthy to sleep at night as best we can and then take naps as needed. EEGs show that we are biphasic sleepers with two alertness dips — one at night time and one mid-day. So talk to HR about setting up a nap room, like they have for NASA's Phoenix mission team members.

    4. Animals exhibit a range of sleep habits

    The three-toed sloth sleeps 9.6 hours nightly. But newborn dolphins and killer whales can forgo sleeping for their entire first month. However, the latter extreme is not recommended for humans. We grow irritable and lose our ability to focus and make decisions after even one night of missed sleep, and that can lead to serious accidents driving and using other machinery.

    5. Get used to being tired, hit the desk

    The bottom line is that a good night's sleep is within the reach of most of us if we follow common-sense guidelines for sleep hygiene:

    * Go to bed at the same time nightly.

    * Set aside enough time to hit that golden 7 hours of sleep.

    * Refrain from caffeine, heavy or spicy foods, and alcohol and other optional medications that might keep you awake, four to six hours before bed-time.

    * Have a pre-sleep routine so you wind down before you hop in.

    * Block out distracting lights and noises.

    * Only engage in sleep and sex in bed (no TV-watching, reading or eating).

    * Exercise regularly but not right before bed.

    But you already know all this and you don't do it. So your realistic plan might be to surrender to the mid-day desk nap.

    现在你很累了，你可以立刻将你的头放在桌上并立即入睡。昨晚你很晚才入睡吧，睡眠质量不好而且很早就醒来。请不要欺骗我们自己：今晚也将是一个不眠之夜，除非……，那么，请往下看。

    这是许多美国人典型的辗转反侧的不眠之夜，他们的睡眠被剥夺了，并很可能需要安眠药或其它疗法来治疗失眠、磨牙、时差反映、焦虑烦燥或腿抽筋、打鼾、梦游等等。

    事实与你的想像完全不同。

    例如，失眠是最常见的睡眠障碍，根据美国卫生研究院的研究，这些睡眠障碍经历真正影响到正常生活的只占人口的10%而己。而这些病例中超过半数的根本病因是疾病（通常为精神疾病）或是受一些物质的影响，比如咖啡或药物。

    现有五项最近的研究结果可以帮助你更容易的入睡：

    1. 我们的睡眠质量，比我们所想像的要好。

    对大多数人来说，睡眠障碍是一个神话。我们不是zombies。一家非赢利性质的国家睡眠基金（是那种从辅助睡眠企业，包括生产安眠药的公司拿钱的基金）称美国居民平均7小时的睡眠时间是不够的，但马里兰大学在今年年初的研究结果表明，我们标准的8小时睡眠时间会更好。事实上，研究表明，美国人现在的睡眠时间和四十年前的一样多。

    2. 随着年龄的增长，我们的睡眠时间越来越少

    不睡觉我们会死。详情略去不说，但研究结果表明，使我们恢复精力的重要的生物过程，也就是使我们的记忆得到整事收集巩固的过程。去年，世界卫生组织确定，夜间工作会导致睡眠障碍，这可能是致癌的一个原因。另一方面来说，最新的研究结果建议我们随着年龄的增长，减少我们的睡眠时间。

    3. 你可以像婴儿一样熟睡（或托马斯·爱迪生）

    你可以选择整晚频繁短暂的睡眠，也可以选择整晚长时间的睡眠。所谓的多相睡眠只存在于婴儿、老年人和其它动物中（据报道托马斯·爱迪生也是这种睡眠方式）。对于我们来说，更为实际和健康的最好方式是可以在夜间睡觉，并在需要时小睡一会。EEGs显示，作为两阶段睡眠者的我们，每天确实有两个时段警惕性会下降 - 一个时段是晚上，另一个时段是中午。因此和人力资源部谈谈关于设立一间午睡室的建议，就像NASA为凤凰号航天员所设的午睡间一样。

    4. 动物所展示的睡眠习惯

    三趾树獭每晚要睡9.6个小时。但新生的海豚和虎鲸在它们出生的第一个月可以整个月不睡觉。当然，后者不睡觉的极端行为不推荐人类采用。即便只有一个晚上没有睡觉，我们也会变得易怒，精神不集中，以及犹豫不决，这会导致驾或使用其它机械时的严重事故。

    5. 变成了习惯的伏案而睡

    在调查中发现，在晚上睡个好觉是我们中大多数人的底线，如果我们遵循以下睡眠健康的指导，就可以有良好的睡眠：

    每晚都在同一时间睡觉。 

    有足够的时间睡足7个小时的黄金睡眠。 

    在睡觉前4至6个小时中，避免食用含有咖啡因，味道浓重或辛辣食物，以及避免饮酒和其它会让你睡不着的药物。 

    在剧烈运动后，睡前先让自己平静下来。 

    减少扰人的灯光和噪音。 

    在床上只睡觉和做爱（不看电视，不看书或吃东西）。 

    经常锻炼，但别在上床前锻炼。

    即使你己经明白了这一切，可你不一定做得到。那么你的实际计划就要着眼于午间在桌面上小睡一会了。