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Doctors involved in sleep studies conclude that Americans do not realize the vast importance of sleep, ranking it in importance with diet and exercise. There are nearly 100 identified sleep disorders that affect the quantity and quality of sleep a person can get.

“For those with medical reasons concerning why they can’t sleep, they should know and do whatever they can to improve their sleeping situation,” Marquez said. “There are all kinds of medicines out there for that. Otherwise, I feel like it’s just not worth it to stay up that extra two hours or so each night. If you can sleep because you don’t have a medical issue impairing that ability, just go to sleep.”

The NYU Sleep Disorders program released a list of 11 ways that sleep improves a person’s lifestyle beyond making them feel and look better. The list included an improved memory, a longer life span, reduced inflammation, spurred creativity, and a sharpened attention span.

A Stanford University study found that college football players who tried to sleep at least ten hours a night for seven to eight weeks improved their average sprint time and had more stamina.