The latest research suggests that while you are asleep, your brain is busily processing the day’s information. It combs through recently formed memories, stabilizing, copying, filing, and making them more useful for the next day.

A night of sleep can make memories resistant to interference from other information and allow you to recall them more effectively. And sleep also lets the brain sift through newly formed memories, possibly even identifying what is worth keeping. During sleep, your mind analyzes collections of memories, perhaps even helping you find the meaning in what you have learned.

As exciting new findings about sleep come in more and more rapidly, it becomes more and more clear that your brain is anything but inactive during sleep. Skimping on sleep can interfere with crucial cognitive processes. Miss a night of sleep, and the day’s memories might be compromised.