When I was a teenager, sleeping until the early afternoon was effortless—as a matter of fact, I think it was nearly impossible for me to get anything less than 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep. But as I got older, I noticed my body would naturally wake itself up at 6:30 a.m., and getting back to sleep was completely hopeless.

Now that I'm in my 30s, my sleep patterns have changed so drastically that "sleeping in" means waking up by 8 a.m., and I'm lucky if I only have to use the bathroom once in the middle of the night. It's also difficult for me to fall asleep without tossing and turning for at least an hour before finally dozing off. After discussing my own sleep situation with my close friends and family, I learned that these sleep issues are more common than I thought. So I went to two New York–based sleep experts and medical professionals to get a clearer insight about the importance of quality sleep, and how it—and the lack of it—impacts our overall health.