13 habits science shows will help you fall asleep faster and sleep better

Sleep is hard, especially in a world where people spend their time busy and stressed.

But not sleeping, in addition to making you less efficient and more stressed, is terrible for your health.

Americans currently average 6.8 hours of sleep per night, down an hour from 1942. Four in 10 Americans don't even get the minimum of seven hours of sleep doctors recommend. That's a public health emergency. Fatigue leads to short and long term problems with mental and physical health.

Here's what the best research out there has to say about what you can do to help yourself fall asleep.