Somnology

Somnology is the scientific study of sleep, including its biology, functions, disorders, and effects on health.

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Sleep architecture: The organization of sleep into recurring stages and cycles across a night. Its stages and cycles provide the basic structure somnology measures.
Sleep medicine: The medical specialty concerned with diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. It applies somnological findings in clinical care.
Sleep: A recurring, reversible state of reduced responsiveness and altered brain activity. It is the central biological phenomenon somnology investigates.
Sleep deprivation: A state caused by obtaining substantially less sleep than the body needs. It reveals how insufficient sleep affects attention, mood, and physiology.
Sleep homeostasis: The process by which sleep pressure builds during wakefulness and decreases during sleep. It explains how prior wakefulness helps regulate sleep timing and intensity.
Obstructive sleep apnea: A disorder in which repeated upper-airway collapse interrupts breathing during sleep. Its diagnosis and treatment rely on measuring sleep and breathing together.
Rapid eye movement sleep: A sleep stage marked by rapid eye movements, vivid dreaming, and muscle atonia. It is one of the major stages examined in sleep biology.
Sleep and memory: The relationship between sleep and the formation, consolidation, and recall of memories. Memory studies test how sleep stages support learning after waking experience.
Circadian rhythm: An approximately 24-hour biological cycle that regulates recurring processes such as sleep and wakefulness. Its timing system helps determine when sleep is biologically favored.
Insomnia: A disorder marked by persistent difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep despite adequate opportunity. It is a common clinical problem studied through sleep patterns and daytime effects.