Depressed and tired man after sleepless night.
Credit: Stock.adobe.com)

AMES, IOWA — Do you find yourself staring at your bedroom ceiling most nights? Most people don’t think twice about the occasional sleepless night, but a new set of research finds that the ability to sleep peacefully throughout the night is becoming an increasingly rare skill in the United States.

Each year, more and more Americans are finding it difficult to fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly through the night, and even those who are able to get enough shut-eye often report poor overall sleep quality. According to the research team at Iowa State University, these changes are largely independent of sleep duration. In fact, problems falling and staying asleep were found to be most prevalent among people with generally healthy sleep length on most nights.

So, while many Americans may still technically be getting their recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per night, it may take upwards of an hour for them to initially fall asleep, and waking up multiple times throughout […]