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Sleep

In Focus

Sleep

The Harvard 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.

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. Harvard experts offer some tips on how to do better with getting enough rest.

Read more from Harvard Medical School

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.

Read more from Brigham and Women’s Hospital

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.

Read more from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

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.

Learn more from the Journalist’s Resource

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.

Learn more from the Division of Sleep Medicine


Sweet dreams

Harvard 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.

Why we remember—and forget

A new study documents whether spiders can dream

A spider web
A new study documents whether spiders can dream

Helping people understand and decode their dreams

A woman floats in a dream-like state against a purple backdrop
Helping people understand and decode their dreams

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
Interpreting the language of dreams

Nightmares and the brain

An illustration of a brain
Nightmares and the brain

To nap or not to nap?

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