ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ

Skip to main content

Sleep

In Focus

Sleep

The ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ community explores this state of rest, its many benefits and functions, and what we can do to ensure that we’re getting enough of it.

Last updated: March 2023
A person sleeping in a white bed

The benefits of catching up on sleep

Most people are not getting enough sleep and the problems that result are apparent—and potentially serious. ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ experts offer some tips on how to do better with getting enough rest.

A hand holds a phone that is opened to YouTube

Misinformation about sleep may keep you up at night

More than 60% of adults in the U.S. report accessing the internet for health-related questions. Yet an alarming amount of medical misinformation in videos about sleep has been identified in a new study.

Four glasses of beer

Alcohol, sleep, and politics

A new study examines the impact major political events can have on sleep and how it affects the our collective mood, wellbeing, and alcohol consumption.

Pillows and sheets on a bed

Disparities in sleep

The amount of sleep U.S. adults get varies based on age, sex, location, race, and ethnicity.

Sleep on it

Scientists and researchers have been studying sleep, why we need it, and how it impacts our physical and mental health for centuries.


Sweet dreams

ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ experts are exploring the state of dreaming, the role of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, and how we create memories.

Two professors stand together and talk

Why we remember—and forget

Neurologist Andrew Budson and neuroscientist Elizabeth Kensinger explain the role sleep plays in helping us consolidate our memories.

A new study documents whether spiders can dream

A spider web

Helping people understand and decode their dreams

A woman floats in a dream-like state against a purple backdrop

Interpreting the language of dreams

A person lays in a bed with text in different languages floating above their heads, as if they are dreaming

Nightmares and the brain

An illustration of a brain

To nap or not to nap?

ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ researchers examine the science behind taking a mid-day snooze and how naps can impact us in the longterm.