In his book, The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How To Fix It, Dr. W. Chris Winter writes:
When sleep is not working properly, you don’t work properly.
When people say scientists don’t know why we sleep, they are wrong. We sleep to stay alive.
Why do we eat a crab cake? Why do we drink a glass of orange juice. Because we have no real choice. We must eat to live. With sleep, we have even less choice because when the drive to sleep is strong enough, it overpowers us and forces us to sleep. My motto is ‘Sleep always wins.’
Winter’s book offers numerous insights into how we spend about 30 percent of our lives, and what we can do if we struggle to get a good night’s rest.
This infographic provides some more information.
Image via: How Did You Sleep Last Night Infographic