In recent decades, increasing evidence has positioned slow-wave sleep (SWS) as a major
actor in neurophysiological phenomena such as glucose metabolism, hormone release …

This paper reviews a novel hypothesis about the functions of slow wave sleep—the synaptic
homeostasis hypothesis. According to the hypothesis, plastic processes occurring during …

According to the two-process model of sleep regulation, the timing and structure of sleep are
determined by the interaction of a homeostatic and a circadian process. The original …

During much of sleep, the cerebral cortex is rippled by slow waves, which appear in the
electroencephalogram as oscillations between 0.5 and 4.5 Hz. Slow waves are regulated as …

Several theories claim that dreaming is a random by-product of REM sleep physiology and
that it does not serve any natural function. Phenomenal dream content, however, is not as …

The need to sleep grows with the duration of wakefulness and dissipates with time spent
asleep, a process called sleep homeostasis. What are the consequences of staying awake …

Driver fatigue is an essential reason for traffic accidents, which poses a severe threat to
people's lives and property. In this review, we summarize the latest research findings and …

Light in the short wavelength range (blue light: 446–483 nm) elicits direct effects on human
melatonin secretion, alertness and cognitive performance via non‐image‐forming …

Sleep is universal in animals, but its specific functions remain elusive. We propose that
sleep's primary function is to allow individual neurons to perform prophylactic cellular …

This paper presents the history of research and the results of recent studies on the effects of
sleep deprivation in animals and humans. Humans can bear several days of continuous …