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• Archive: For many of us, sleep is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
• For others, sleep represents a nightly struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, rest comfortably, and even remain safe until morning.
• But what is sleep exactly, and why must we do it every night?Despite the fact that we spend about one-third of our lives in slumber, scientists still aren’t completely certain.
• Finding the function of sleep is one of the biggest—and most intriguing—challenges facing biologists today.What is clear: Sleep is as essential to life as food and water.
• It impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, from our mood to the functioning of our organs, and it contributes to learning and memory, better performance at work, and a more healthy and productive wakeful life overall.A lack of sleep impairs your cognitive abilities, exacerbates or leads to psychological problems, and leaves you vulnerable to a long list of chronic medical issues.