View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-benefits-of-a-good-night-s-sleep-shai-marcu

It’s 4am, and the big test is in 8 hours. You’ve been studying for days, but you still don’t feel ready. Should you drink another cup of coffee and spend the next few hours cramming? Or should you go to sleep? Shai Marcu defends the latter option, showing how sleep restructures your brain in a way that’s crucial for how our memory works.

Lesson by Shai Marcu, animation by Javier Saldeña.