Gap Between Clinical Sleep Science and Public Sleep Culture

Key points

CBT-I, not medication, is the safest and most effective first step for chronic insomnia.

Products cannot fix chronic insomnia because insomnia is a clinical condition, not a lifestyle problem.

The habits that matter most are consistency and total sleep time, not deep-sleep metrics.

Sleep has become a public culture priority. The sleep industry now exceeds $68 billion. Nearly half of adults report insomnia symptoms at some point. Chronic insomnia means difficulty falling or staying asleep at least three nights per week for at least three months, with daytime consequences and/or significant distress. About 1 in 3 Americans uses a wearable device to track sleep, suggesting the public truly values sleep.¹ While this attention is encouraging given the importance of sleep, man