The list of bad things that can happen from depriving yourself of sleep is significant, from memory loss to irritability to a higher risk for getting sick.

But in case none of those convince you of the importance of shut-eye, try this on for size.

For men, the less sleep you get, the more attracted you’ll be to unattractive women.

According to a Hendrix College study:

After remaining awake for the next 24 hours, the students rated the photos again. Men increased their ratings of the least attractive women and decreased their ratings of moderately attractive women. Women, on the other hand, didn’t change their ratings of any of the men. Men also expressed more interest in having casual sex with the least attractive women and less interest in having casual sex with the moderately attractive women after being sleep-deprived.

So yes, science now shows that the more sleep deprived you are, the more likely you are to snog with someone you may regret.

In other words, get some sleep—you won’t regret it.

Sleep is something that’s consistently elusive, yet necessary to good living.

When it comes to work, doing it on little sleep can mean less work getting done.

As you’ve likely noticed, “[t]he more sleep-deprived you are, the slower you become at getting tasks done at work.” Sure, you can pop up in the morning and pour yourself a coffee to wake you up, but you won’t be able to maintain that same level of productivity throughout the day.

Sleeping less is making you poorer. A recent study found “one extra hour in average sleep over the long run is associated with a 16 percent increase in wages.”

Even worse, sleep is increasing the number of days you have to take off, as a study in Sleep found that “sleeping fewer than five hours or more than 10 hours a night is associated with staying home sick for 4.6 to 8.9 more days than people who sleep between seven and eight hours a night”.

When you control for all other factors, it’s easy to see the correlation between better sleep and more success at work.

Just don’t oversleep!

this doesn’t have to be you

Sleep is elusive for most because of distractions.

It’s 6AM, the neighbor’s leafblower is on at full blast.

The sun beats through the window and sears your forehead.

Your partner snores like a malfunctioning chainsaw.

But there’s one distraction that may be affecting your sleep more than you know: Fido.

According to a recent Mayo Clinic study:

“Forty-one percent of the sleep-deprived pet owners said the disturbances come from allowing their cats or dogs to share the bed, while 58 percent say the disruption comes from simply letting their pets sleep in the same room.”

Pets usually wake up before humans down, as most pet owners will attest to. Dogs are known for whining or pawing when they want to be let out, while cats will pester owners for food.

Fixing the problem, however, is quite simple.

“If your cat wakes you up because she’s hungry, consider an automatic feeder. If your dog needs to be taken outside in the middle of the night, move up his feeding time and start letting the animal out earlier.”

Little changes can make a big difference, and keep you from having to wake up at 4AM after being awoken by a furry visitor.

The night before a big test or presentation is always the worst.

You want to stay up and cram information, you want to make sure that your brain can absorb just a little bit extra before bed.

However, you may be risking your brain’s ability to remember, period.

A scientific study shows the importance of sleep to memory:

Researchers have shown for the first time that sleep after learning nurtures the growth of dendritic spines. These are the tiny protrusions from brain cells which connect to other brain cells and facilitate the passage of information across synapses, which are the junctions at which brain cells meet.

Even on memorization tests, you still have to be able to make connections between material. Presentations and speeches are especially complex and require your brain to perform multiple tasks. When you deprive your brain of sleep, you’re actually hurting yourself—by making it more difficult for your brain to make important connections.

The NYU study’s author, Wen-Biao Gan, PhD, emphasizes how we finally have a better understanding about the importance of sleep to memory.

that’s the idea

We like to think of TV couples in the 50s going to sleep in separate beds, but throughout history, people have slept together—and not frequently for sexual reasons.

Space was often a premium in recent centuries. From small adobe cottages to one-room log cabins to tiny Industrial Revolution city apartments, poverty and modest means have always bred necessary familiarity. Families usually slept in one bed. So did friends or co-workers (as a travelling lawyer, Abraham Lincoln was known to sleep in the same bed as his male colleagues—which was completely normal for the time).

Sleeping in separate beds was a complete luxury.

But these days, there’s somewhat of a stigma in not sleeping in the same bed.

The main issue is if you’re not sleeping in the same bed, the perception is you’re not having sex and people are afraid to admit to sleeping apart,” Crespi says. “I’ve seen it be problematic and not problematic. And a lot really depends on what is going on in the relationship.

This stigma is unfounded, as sometimes people simply sleep better, apart.

One partner may have to wake up earlier for work. Another may be a “cover hog”. And if your bedmate snores—sleep may be uncomfortably elusive.

she’s clearly enjoying this

While there’s a feeling of protection and security that causes us to bunk up together, the fact remains that people get a better night’s sleep when they sleep alone.

And of course—more well-slept people means happier people.

If you’re struggling to find a way to get a good night’s sleep, you may want to try this unconventional but drug free way to sleep.

Hypnosis is the art of relaxation and suggestibility. It’s unknown what makes individuals more “suggestible”, but those who are ranked with a high level of “suggestibility” are more able to be seduced by hypnosis.

Hypnosis isn’t a man in a mustache moving a pocket watch in front of your face. It’s an actual medical practice where professionals can use it to help people quit smoking and cure insomnia.

therapist: *meh* 

patient: *zzzzz*

And now, a scientific study from the University of Zurich shows that hypnosis actually works—with a catch:

Results showed that the women in the highly suggestible group experienced over 80% more SWS after listening to the hypnosis tape, and their time spent awake was reduced by one third, compared with highly suggestible women who listened to the neutral text.

Compared with the highly suggestible group, women from the low suggestible group did not benefit as much from hypnosis, the researchers say.

The Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Suggestibility measures just how suggestible you are. Those who scored higher on the scale truly benefitted from the hypnosis for sleep. Best of all: no drugs, no side effects.

It sounds like a joke, but nobody’s laughing when you’re getting a full night of sleep.

Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the developed world.

Scientists are still discovering the risk factors for the disease, and unlike Type 1 diabetes, which has a genetic component, Type 2 diabetes is caused by lifestyle factors.

However, a recent study shows that a common sleep disorder may increase your risk for diabetes:

“Controlling for known risk factors for diabetes — including age, sex, weight, smoking, other medical problems and income status — patients with severe sleep apnea had a 30 percent higher risk of developing diabetes than those without sleep apnea,” said lead researcher Dr. Tetyana Kendzerska. She’s with the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

Sleep apnea is a disorder where your body does not get enough oxygen during the night. It’s more common with obesity, another risk factor for diabetes.

Sleep apnea is much more treatable than diabetes. There are special breathing devices which allow your body to get the oxygen it needs and improve your breathing through the night.

As the costs of managing diabetes mount, if we can invest more in treating comorbid disorders like sleep apnea, we have a better chance towards treating diabetes.

not as uncomfortable as constant pinpricks

When you think of sleep disorder, you think of insomnia or sleep apnea. They have their risks, and shouldn’t be left untreated.

However, the most dangerous sleep disorder is also one that is little-understood: narcolepsy.

But what is it, exactly?

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder caused by a loss of the brain’s neurotransmitters that regulate sleep-wake cycles. A groundbreaking study published in the December 2013 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, said that narcolepsy appears to be an autoimmune disease, killing the cells that produce the transmitters. While affecting some 250,000 Americans, it’s believed that fewer than a quarter of those living with the disorder are actually diagnosed.

It’s more than just a sleep disorder, it’s a complete neurological disorder.

As a result, the body sometimes just…shuts down. One of the main symptoms is “cataplexy”, or the entire body going limp when it’s aroused (laughter, anger, extreme emotion).

50% of narcoleptics suffer cataplexy, and the vast majority of cataplexy is due to narcolepsy. For narcoleptics, this makes everyday tasks a challenge, like driving, handling sharp or delicate objects, or something as simple as crossing the street. In each of these situations, losing muscle tone or collapsing could mean death.

Narcoleptics sleep differently than most people. REM sleep, or deep sleep, usually doesn’t happen for 1-2 hours after most fall asleep. But for narcoleptics, it happens immediately for a short burst. And then again later in the day. And then again. Essentially, the entire day is an uphill battle to obtain restful sleep.

differences in brain function after using a narcolepsy treatment drug, modafinil

Narcolepsy is not entirely untreatable, but options are limited:

Aside from the expense, Xyrem and other drugs prescribed to treat the disorder are a source of frustration for narcoleptics because their efficacy differs for each patient. A great deal of experimentation usually occurs before a patient finds the right combination of drugs. It’s also possible for some to experience side effects so severe that their only option is to stay away from all medication and try to find other ways to cope with their narcolepsy.

Stay-awake drugs like Ritalin and Provigil are also used to treat narcolepsy, but can become addictive and lose effectiveness over time.

The most important healing tool in a narcoleptic’s life is the presence of caring family and friends who know their triggers, can get them up for work, and help them through difficult days.

The disorder is not uncommon either:

Although four times more common than cystic fibrosis and nearly comparable in frequency to multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, narcolepsy is often mistaken for depression, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, learning impairments, or dismissed as laziness.

If you suspect that you or a loved one may be suffering from narcolepsy, find a sleep doctor (your local university’s medical research center may also help) to request a Multiple Sleep Latency Test, which can confirm a diagnosis. It’s not too late, and it may save someone’s life.