If the burden of getting enough sleep is on us, should we consider chronic insomniacs—for whom sleep is a nightly gladiatorial struggle—the biggest failures in the armies of the underslept?

It's all we know. "We love spending time with our kids, and they get 9-11 hours of sleep a night. It just works for us.

Americans, by and large, are starved for sleep. In an effort to close that yawning gap, one sleep expert is sharing her tips for getting a solid eight.