Sleepless In America

16:57

April 02, 2013

A traveler sleeps at Union Station in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (AP /Jae C. Hong)

How did you sleep last night? If you're like a lot of Americans, probably not well. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from a chronic disorder of sleep and wakefulness.

And a 2011 poll found that more than half of all Americans from age 13 to 64 experience some kind of sleep problem every night.

Why are so many of us having this problem? Elizabeth Kolbert explores that question, and her own sleeplessness, in the New Yorker's "Up All Night."

The New Yorker: Up All Night
New York Times: New Worries About Sleeping Pills

Guest:

Elizabeth Kolbert, staff writer at the New Yorker

This segment aired on April 2, 2013.