睡眠是一种在哺乳动物、鸟类和鱼类等生物中普遍存在的自然休息状态，甚至在无脊椎动物如果蝇中也有这种现象。睡眠的特征包括：减少主动的身体运动，对外界刺激反应减弱，增强同化作用（生产细胞结构），以及降低异化作用水平（分解细胞结构）。在人类、哺乳动物及其他很多已经被研究的动物，如鱼、鸟、老鼠、苍蝇中，规律的睡眠是生存的前提。和昏迷不同，睡眠比较容易被打断，回到清醒状态。从睡眠中醒过来是一种保护机制，也是健康和生存的必须。 对于人，睡眠占了人生的三分之一，可以说睡眠的好坏是生活质量一半的基础。

Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles, and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, but is more easily reversed than the state of hibernation or of being comatose. Mammalian sleep occurs in repeating periods, in which the body alternates between two highly distinct modes known as non-REM and REM sleep. REM stands for "rapid eye movement" but involves many other aspects including virtual paralysis of the body.