Zzzzzzzz: The Mathematics of a Good Night’s Sleep

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
We boast when our infant finally sleeps through the night. We bemoan the teenager who requires a canon shot to arise from his bed before noon. And in our “golden” years, we wonder why sleep is so fleeting, yet napping seems to come as easily as breathing. Such are the mysteries of sleep.

But the mysteries of sleep are more than just a source of passing wonder or inconvenience for many people. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems that range from insomnia and sleep apnea to narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome , and circadian rhythm disorders. In addition, “sleep deprivation is associated with injuries, chronic diseases, mental illnesses, poor quality of life and well-being, increased health care costs and lost work productivity,” according to CDC’s Sleep and Sleep Disorders Team, which evaluates the prevalence and impacts of sleep insufficiency and sleep disorders.

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