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We spend a orotund portion of our biography sleeping . That might seem like an evolutionary disadvantage , given sopor leave us immobile and potentially vulnerable to attacks for hour on destruction — but grounds suggests we have many cardinal physiological use tied to sleep , and interruption in sleep are linked to a wide range of a function of wellness problems , including ahigher riskof decease .

What ’s more , as we kip , we often dream . In this way , sleep unlocks an experience that we ca n’t get at during our waking time of day .

a rendering of a bed floating in the clouds

Morescience quizzes

— Brain quiz : Test your cognition of the most complex organ in the trunk

— What do you know about psychological science ’s most notorious experimentation ?

— Human development quiz : What do you sleep with about Homo sapiens ?

Rocket liftoff

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A radio telescope with imaginary blue lines coming from it

a woman with insomnia sits in bed

A photograph of a woman waking up and stretching in bed.

A photo of a statue head that is cracked and half missing

Young African elephant bull flares it�s trunk and tusks in the air.

A close-up image of a person pouring white pills from a brown bottle onto their palm.

An artist�s rendering of a molecule

A close up photo of a young woman�s face propped up on a pillow as she sleeps; her face is illuminated by a bedside lamp out of frame

A man laying in bed snoring

Two young lions (Panthera leo) in the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya.

Mount Vesuvius behind the ruins of pompeii.

Stonehenge, Salisbury, UK, July 30, 2024; Stunning aerial view of the spectacular historical monument of Stonehenge stone circles, Wiltshire, England, UK.

a painting of vikings at sea

Sunda island pit viper ( Trimeresurus insularis ) on a branch. Photo taken in Jakarta.

Coloured sagittal MRI scans of a normal healthy head and neck. The scans start at the left of the body and move right through it. The eyes are seen as red circles, while the anatomy of the brain and spinal cord is best seen between them. The vertebrae of the neck and back are seen as blue blocks. The brain comprises paired hemispheres overlying the central limbic system. The cerebellum lies below the back of the hemispheres, behind the brainstem, which connects the brain to the spinal cord

An illustration of microbiota in the gut