While we all have the occasional poor night’s sleep, some of us face that nightmare on a regular basis. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that all adults get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night, but statistics show that up to 35 % of us fall below that minimum. And that spells trouble.

New research from Western University in Ontario documents the cognitive decline you’ll experience if you regularly get too little sleep. In fact, researchers posit that those who report a typical night’s sleep of just 4 hours will experience the equivalence of aging 8 additional years. So put down that coffee and read more about this new study here (paywall).

The good news is that more than ever, there are resources available to help you figure out your sleep problems and get you your minimum 7 hours. To start, you may want to try this comprehensive New York Times guide on How To Get A Better Night’s Sleep. Or you might want to take a look at the simple but effective tips and tricks at Helpguide.org, a partner organization of Harvard Health Publications. Also from The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard comes the resource Get Sleep, a comprehensive website intended for continuing education for physicians but with valuable information for consumers as well. Finally, if you’re feeling desperate or daring, you may want to check out the guidance issued by the US Army to get soldiers to sleep under difficult circumstances. So pull out your camouflage and click here.