Rest Assured: The Web Can Help You Sleep Better

Mayo Clinic 's Sleep Center has a host of articles addressing important sleep-related issues like daily requirements, sleeping pills, jet lag, and more. It's an authoritative source for information on how to sleep better, and on diagnosing and treating sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and narcolepsy.

SleepEducation.com is a site run by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. In the "main navigation" bar you'll find links to information and resources on the following topics: the effects of sleep, sleep evaluation, sleep studies, sleep disorders, common treatments, and finding a sleep center. The homepage also has a list of the latest sleep-related news stories.

The National Sleep Foundation 's site is an information trove. The resources section in the navigation bar on the left contains links to information on healthy sleep habits, as well as the programs, initiatives, events, and press releases of the organization. The NSF is an education and advocacy organization dedicated to bringing the importance of good sleep to the public's attention, helping those who suffer from disorders get treatment, and encouraging the passage of legislature related to sleep and alertness.

The Sleep Research Society is a professional society of scientists that exists to advance the study of sleep and sleep disorders, to expand sleep education, and to provide a framework for scholarly discourse. Their site contains information specific to the organization, like its make-up, vision, events, and membership details.

National Center on Sleep Disorders Research 's "Patient and Public Information" portal has a "sleep quiz" to let you test your knowledge of proper sleep habits and common disorders. There is a page with free, downloadable information resources and links to the sites operated by other affiliated health organizations. The NCSDR is an organization affiliated with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute that works to improve sleep research, training, technology transfer, and coordination.

World Federation of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Societies is an organization that encompasses various sleep societies from around the world. The Web site isn't a good information source, but it is useful for accessing the pages operated by member organizations and their respective academic journals.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is a society of physicians, researchers, and health care professionals dedicated exclusively to improving standards in sleep medicine, research, knowledge, and treatment. Use this site if you're looking for information on the organization or for AASM press releases.

National Institutes of Health : SeniorHealth has a short walk-through overview of the relationship between sleep and aging, and covers sleep disorders, diagnosis and treatment, and how to sleep well.

National Institute on Aging 's "AgePage" introduces common sleeping disorders like insomnia, apnea, and movement disorders, and offers suggestions for getting a good night's sleep and sleeping safely.

National Sleep Foundation has a comprehensive body of sleep information relevant to seniors. There's an expert Q&A section with information on symptoms, treatment, coping, and much more.

SleepForKids.com is a children's sleep site created by the National Sleep Foundation. By following the adventures of P.J. Bear, kids can learn why sleep is important, how it works, how much they should get, what could be causing them not to sleep, and more.

Nemours Foundation has information on sleep and sleeping habits that's geared toward teenagers. It addresses factors that could be contributing to loss of sleep, overviews prominent disorders, and offers insight about how to get help.

The National Sleep Foundation conducts annual Sleep in America polls. The focus of the foundation’s 2006 poll was adolescent sleep habits. This page contains links to the study results, and press releases regarding the sleep habits of teenagers.

The FDA has a short, concise fact sheet that overviews various sleep disorders. Use this as an introduction to sleep disorders, and use the following resources for more in-depth information.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has an article entitled "Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep" that outlines all the aspects of sleep like recommended hours, benefits, importance, disorders, and more. What's particularly good about this article is that it gives a detailed description of the theories behind the biological functions of sleep, and in doing so makes it easier to understand disorders.

WebMD has a comprehensive portal with diagnosis and treatment information for insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm sleep disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder, periodic limb movement disorder, sleep walking, night terrors, bed-wetting, and jaw pain.

National Sleep Foundation 's ABC's of ZZZs is an in-depth guide to the factors that could contribute to a person having difficulty sleeping. Click a topic on the list for further information about any of various sleep ailments or impediments.

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has a 68-page PDF document on getting healthy sleep. It walks through the basics of sleep, addressing what it is, why it's important, how much is enough, what disrupts it, and what snoring is. It also debunks sleep myths, addresses the symptoms that might indicated you have a sleep issue, and more.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has a guide to finding accredited sleep disorder centers around the United States. Listings contain detailed contact information and links to Web sites where possible.

SleepNet has a list of links to sleep clinics and labs around the country. Unfortunately the site is poorly organized; it's not much more than a running list, so you'll have to check each entry as you scroll down to determine whether a clinic will fit your geographical constraints.

SleepQuest.com has a state-by-state list of clinics. Not all are certified by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, so evaluate each clinic's site individually, looking specifically for accreditation.

The National Sleep Foundation has a quality overview of sleep aids and how they can benefit those suffering from insomnia.

Mayo Clinic 's guide to sleeping pills introduces how they're meant to be used, offers a very brief history, and then provides charts with detailed breakdowns of each drug. Descriptions include the drug's name, side effects, precautions, and usage considerations.

WebMD has descriptions of most of the major sleeping pills that include how they work, their side effects, dependence risk, and how long their effects last.

Slate writer Seth Stevenson has an interesting article on the effectiveness of sleeping aids, based on his self-conducted experiments.

How Stuff Works comes through with a solid introduction to dreaming. With concise explanations and interesting graphics, they lay out the basic theories and biological functions behind dreams and dreaming.

Newsweek explores the history, background, biology, and scholarship of dreams in this article, "What Dreams Are Made Of." It recaps mainstream beliefs and studies while explaining the significance given to dreams and dreaming throughout history. There's a discussion of the biology behind dreaming, and an analysis of dreams and aging.

Scientific American ran this 2005 article entitled, "Sweet Dreams are Made of This." It discusses historical perspectives on dreaming, Freud’s theories, REM sleep, and contemporary research and scholarship.

The International Association for the Study of Dreams has articles from their research journal available online via the American Psychological Association's Web site, for a fee of $11.95 individually, or with subscription. Also available, free of charge, is access to articles from current and past issues of the association's magazine, "Dream Time".

Dream Views has an introduction to lucid dreaming, tutorials, and an active lucid dreaming message board.

Charles Hamel is a self-proclaimed hippy and a “spiritual being on a journey of self discovery and awakening.” Here he blogs on achieving a lucid dream.

Project Gutenberg , the eBook database, has Sigmund Freud's book, Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners, online as a free download.

Journal Sleep is the official publication of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Contents are geared toward scientists and clinicians engaged in sleep study and research. Articles are scholarly in nature, and deal with complex medical issues related to sleep. Two articles from the March 2007 issue are "Altered Circadian and Homeostatic Sleep Regulation in Prokineticin 2-Deficient Mice" and "Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of Brain Metabolism in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome before and after Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment."

Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine publishes papers and articles that are directly related to the clinical practice of sleep medicine. In order to access articles in their entirety you must be a registered member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Details on becoming a member are available on the site.

Journal of Sleep Research is published on behalf of the European Sleep Research Society. The JSR makes most of their content available for download, or for viewing in HTML form, and visitors can access the contents of a free sample issue.

Sleep and Biological Rhythms is the official journal of the Japanese Society of Sleep Research. As with the previous three journals, articles are published by scientists and researchers recapping recent findings and studies. They're highly technical, written specifically for members of the academic and medical communities. Although not entirely free, many of the articles can be accessed without charge.