If you skip sleep for a night, the negative effects on your brain and body are much worse than missing a day of food or exercise. Sleep interacts with diet and exercise, but it’s the foundation for good health and longevity.

In less than 100 years, people in developed countries are sleeping 15-20% less, dropping from about 8 hours a night to around 6.5 hours. This widespread reduction is linked to higher risks for many chronic diseases and early death.

Sleeping less than seven hours a night clearly increases the risk of dying sooner and developing diseases. While too much sleep (over 9 hours) seems risky in studies, it's usually because people who are already sick need more sleep.

Deep sleep, REM sleep, and light sleep all play unique roles in your health and brain function. Skipping any one of these stages can negatively affect learning, memory, emotions, blood sugar, and even your relationships.

Lowering your body’s core temperature by about 2 degrees helps you fall asleep and get deeper sleep. Techniques like cooling your hands and feet, using a cooling mattress pad, or keeping your room cold can boost deep sleep, especially for older adults.

Exposure to bright lights or screens before bed can cut your melatonin in half, delay sleep timing, and reduce REM sleep. Even just one hour of iPad use before bed can disrupt sleep quality for days, so dim your lights and avoid screens before bedtime for better sleep.

Most of your REM sleep (important for emotional health and memory) happens in the last part of the night. If you regularly cut your sleep short, you may lose almost all your REM sleep, not just a little bit.

Simple changes like dimming lights, cooling your bedroom, not eating late, and using blue-light blocking glasses can significantly improve your sleep quality. Some people use weighted blankets, special pillows, or sleep position tools for even better results.

Using sleep trackers (like Oura Ring or Apple Watch) helps you see how lifestyle changes affect your sleep stages. But the goal isn’t just to track, it’s to experiment and find what really helps you wake up feeling rested.

Special acoustic technology can play gentle sounds at the right time to increase deep sleep and improve next-day mental performance. Blocking noise pollution and using gradual wake-up alarms can also help you sleep better and wake up more refreshed.

Sleeping on your back with proper neck support can improve sleep quality, reduce pain, and even help TMJ (jaw issues). Side sleeping is popular, but back sleeping with the right tools may offer unique health benefits, including better spine alignment.

Eating late raises your body temperature and can disrupt sleep. For best results, avoid eating at least 3-5 hours before bed to help your body cool down and detox while you sleep.