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Sleep, Health, and the Brain

"Sleeping is not something that only determines whether you are tired or alert. To put it simply, sleep can save your life...Sleep is needed so everything in your body and mind can work correctly...Without proper sleep, the brain can't regenerate properly."-American Sleep Association

Through evolution, sleep has remained an integral part of our daily routine. While sufficient sleep offers replenishment and rejuvenation, research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, increases the risk of disorders including depression, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2022)-all creating a strain on normal brain function.

Annual Reviews has curated this new review article collection that explores varying perspectives of the complex relationship between sleep, health, and the brain. The reviews span multiple fields of study including nutrition, neuroscience, psychology, and physiology.

In this interdisciplinary collection, our experts discuss three key areas centered around sleep:

  • Health and Habit
  • Neuroscience and the Nervous System
  • Therapy and Medicine

Be the first to receive access to future interdisciplinary collections of research reviews and topical webinars from leading experts and pioneers. Visit our Email Preference Center to subscribe to the AR Buzz newsletter and to set your email preferences for journal content alerts.


Health and Habit

Sleep Health: An Opportunity for Public Health to Address Health Equity

Lauren Hale, Wendy Troxel, and Daniel J. Buysse, Annual Review of Public Health

Sleep and Diet: Mounting Evidence of a Cyclical Relationship

Faris M. Zuraikat, Rebecca A. Wood, Rocío Barragán, and Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Annual Review of Nutrition

Why Sleep Is Important for Health: A Psychoneuroimmunology Perspective

Michael R. Irwin, Annual Review of Psychology

Genetics of Sleep and Insights into Its Relationship with Obesity

Hassan S. Dashti and José M. Ordovás, Annual Review of Nutrition

Sleep as a Potential Fundamental Contributor to Disparities in Cardiovascular Health

Chandra L. Jackson, Susan Redline, and Karen M. Emmons, Annual Review of Public Health

The Role of Sleep in Emotional Brain Function

Andrea N. Goldstein and Matthew P. Walker, Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

The Human Sleep Paradox: The Unexpected Sleeping Habits of Homo sapiens

David R. Samson, Annual Review of Anthropology

VIDEO FROM KNOWABLE MAGAZINE... Why sleep matters for personal and public health

Neuroscience and the Nervous System

Integrated Brain Circuits: Astrocytic Networks Modulate Neuronal Activity and Behavior

Michael M. Halassa and Philip G. Haydon, Annual Review of Physiology

The Glymphatic System in Central Nervous System Health and Disease: Past, Present, and Future

Benjamin A. Plog and Maiken Nedergaard, Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease

The Lineage Before Time: Circadian and Nonclassical Clock Influences on Development

Joseph Lewis Bedont, Daniel Maxim Iascone, and Amita Sehgal, Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology

The Glial Perspective on Sleep and Circadian Rhythms

Gregory Artiushin and Amita Sehgal Annual Review of Neuroscience

A Motor Theory of Sleep-Wake Control: Arousal-Action Circuit

Danqian Liu and Yang Dan, Annual Review of Neuroscience

Memory and Sleep: How Sleep Cognition Can Change the Waking Mind for the Better

Ken A. Paller, Jessica D. Creery, and Eitan Schechtman, Annual Review of Psychology

Therapy and Medicine

Sleep Pharmacogenetics: Personalized Sleep-Wake Therapy

Sebastian C. Holst, Amandine Valomon, and Hans-Peter Landolt, Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology

The Discovery of Suvorexant, the First Orexin Receptor Drug for Insomnia

Paul J. Coleman, Anthony L. Gotter, W. Joseph Herring, Christopher J. Winrow, and John J. Renger, Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology



Why sleep matters for personal and public health
VIDEO: Disrupted sleep ups the risks for heart disease, cancer and depression. How? And what can be done about the inequities that leave communities of color and poor people at greater risk? Watch the replay of this event held on January 19, 2022.


Annual Reviews is a nonprofit publisher with a mission to synthesize and integrate knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society. We currently publish 51 highly cited journals in the Biomedical, Life, Physical, and Social Sciences, including Economics.

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