The Scientists Whose Research Led to Everything We Know About Sleep Just Won the Nobel Prize in Medicine The scientists behind the most important sleep research were finally awarded for their work.

By Rose Leadem

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

graphicstock

If you think back to five or 10 years ago, not getting enough sleep, staying up all night and working long hours was considered a sign of success. In fact, in some cases, not getting enough sleep was basically a badge of honor. However, the tables have turned.

Related: 8 Sleep and Health Myths You Should Stop Believing

With more and more studies and new research surfacing, people are finally realizing the importance of sleep. Perhaps in light of that trend, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a trio of researchers for their discoveries on the internal biological clock, that is, the 24-hour body clock.

American circadian rhythm scientists Jeffrey C. Hall and Michael Rosbash from Brandeis University and Michael W. Young from Rockefeller University were recognized and awarded $1.1 million for their insights in explaining "how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronised with the Earth's revolutions." In other words, how the internal body clock, known as the circadian rhythm, in organisms explain why people wake up during the day and sleep at night.

Related: 16 Things That Lack of Sleep Can Do to You, According to Science

These researchers were also responsible for uncovering sleep's effects on other bodily functions such as eating, hormones and health. "With exquisite precision, our inner clock adapts our physiology to the dramatically different phases of the day," members of the Nobel committee noted. As is often discussed today, the committee explains how this imbalance increases risks for disease and poor health: "The clock regulates critical functions such as behavior, hormone levels, sleep, body temperature and metabolism.

Pretty much any new studies that emerge today, such as how sleep deprivation can increase risk for diseases including diabetes, obesity and cancers, or how lack of sleep can result in poor performance, are all rooted back to Hall, Rosbash and Young's initial research in the 1980s.

Related: 12 Ways to Smoothly Start Waking Up Earlier

Back then, the award-winning scientists began their work by studying the 24-hour cycles of fruit flies. In the fruit flies, the researchers identified a gene, known as the "period" gene, which carries a protein that fluctuates and degrades throughout the day and then restores itself overnight. When there's a mismatch between an organism's internal body clock and external environmental factors, their well-being is affected. Later on, the researchers continued their work, discovering why various impacts of the circadian rhythm and most notably, how light impacts a person's body clock. Think: jet lag.

Rose Leadem is a freelance writer for Entrepreneur.com. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.

Growing a Business

5 Risk-Taking Lessons From Founders Who Bet Big and Won

Discover the bold moves and strategic risks that catapulted these entrepreneurs to success. Learn how their fearless decisions can inspire your own path to growth.