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The invention of the electroencephalograph allowed scientists to study sleep in ways that were not previously possible. During the 1950s, a gradate student named Eugene Aserinsky used this tool to discover what is known today as REM sleep. Further studies of human sleep have demonstrated that sleep progresses through a series of stages in which different brain wave patterns are displayed.

There are two main types of sleep:

The Beginnings of Sleep

During the earliest phases of sleep, you are still relatively awake ...

The science of sleep is a modern one – in fact most scientific information on sleep has been gained in the last 25 years. This is a list of 20 very interesting facts about sleep.

White men are the earliest risers — except on weekends (when black women beat them out of bed by 52 minutes)

Sleep is an increasingly precious commodity in today’s America. Although doctors recommend a solid eight-hours, a new study by the National Sleep Foundation reports that one in three Americans sleep fewer than six hours a night. Intriguingly, when it comes to getting a good night’s rest, some ethnic groups fare better than others. Here, a by-the-numbers breakdown of who’s sleepless ...

On average, Americans get far less sleep than we need. Are we choosing TV and the internet over sex and Zzz’s?

Americans are too tired to go out and socialize, too tired to work, and even too tired for sex, according to a new survey from the National Sleep Foundation. But while the poll results highlight a nation of sleep-deprived adults, they also pull back the curtain on what we’re doing, collectively and by race, instead of sleeping. Here’s a look ...