This article is written specifically to all high school students who sacrifice hours of sleep for the sake of finishing that History essay due the next day.

There are plenty of health conditions that are associated with a lack of sleep such as heart attacks, coronary heart disease, and strokes. Obesity has also been associated with a lack of sleep. Besides the adverse physical health issues, sleep is an absolute necessity for cognition, as provides the opportunity for the brain to rest after completing a day of mental activities.

Sleep is important. We need to sleep for many reasons, one being for our brain to restore and reorganize. Prolonged sleep deprivation causes an increase in free radicals in the brain, resulting in oxidative stress.

Studies have demonstrated that a number cognitive abilities were affected by sleep deprivation. Test subjects reported perceptual hallucinations, distortions and concentration difficulties.

The most significant stages of sleep are REM and Slow-wave. These stages are essential in both memory consolidation and organization.

REM sleep facilitates massive changes in the brain that occur during development and modest changes required for learning. During REM sleep, we have higher levels of consciousness than any other sleep phase. In fact, when you awaken during REM sleep, you will be relatively alert. One study found that REM sleep affects the learning of certain mental skills. In the experiment, one group of participants received REM sleep, while the other group was deprived of it. During the study, subjects were taught a skill. Those who had gone through the REM sleep stage could recall what they had learned after sleeping, while those deprived of REM sleep found it more challenging.

Slow-wave sleep is often referred to as "sleep-dependent memory processing". During this stage, we are in deep sleep. Specifically, Slow-wave sleep plays a role in memory. Slow-wave sleep facilitates our ability to form and retain episodic memories. In other words, our capacity to learn, store, and retrieve information about unique personal experiences relies heavily on Slow-wave sleep.

After reading this, remember to get some sleep, even if you have an exam the next day. Sleep is absolutely necessary for our survival!