AMA Journal of Ethics^®

Fully assessing children’s sleep environments and effectively promoting children’s overall sleep health is nearly impossible during brief clinical encounters.

Sleep is essential for a healthy, productive life, but access to sufficient and quality sleep is not universal.

This issue investigates how sleep is a communal natural resource and a basic physiological need that deserves our ethical attention and stewardship.

Racial and ethnic inequity exists throughout the lifespan, including at the end of life.

Behaviorally induced insufficient sleep syndrome can exacerbate morning side effects of prescription sleep aids, and there are potentially serious long-term risks.

A star-filled sky has long been a source of awe and inspiration, and its loss adversely affects human, nonhuman, and environmental health.

Poor sleep affects nearly every organ system and influences many morbidity and mortality causes, so screening for sleep sufficiency and quality should be prioritized.

Clinicians can offer expertise about physiological and psychological consequences of sleep deprivation, which inform what legally counts as torture.

A paradigm shift in circadian science is underway, exposing ethical tensions from a legacy of pervasive neglect of circadian disorders.

Neuroscience should be at the core of a sound sleep health curriculum, especially in early classroom-based medical education.