Sleep and Cellular Stress.

ABSTRACT

Sleep is a universal phenomenon occurring in all species studied thus far. Sleep loss results in adverse physiological effects at both the organismal and cellular levels suggesting an adaptive role for sleep in the maintenance of overall health. This review examines the bidirectional relationship between sleep and cellular stress. Cellular stress in this review refers to a shift in cellular homeostasis in response to an external stressor. Studies that illustrate the fact that sleep loss induces cellular stress and those that provide evidence that cellular stress in turn promotes sleep will be discussed.