Summary
Project Summary Understanding why we sleep remains one of the most enduring mysteries in science. Nearly every organism examined, even jellyfish that lack a centralized nervous system, exhibits a restorative sleep-like state. While asleep, we cannot eat, mate, defend ourselves from predators or care for our young. Inadequate sleep contributes to brain disease such as Alzheimer's and depression, and even diseases outside of the brain, such as diabetes and obesity. Sleep is homeostatically regulated, i.e., sleep is driven by the duration and intensity of prior waking experience. However, the mec
