Cultural and historical definitions of sleep have varied greatly, and recent advances in neuroscience and sleep health provide important insights into sleep behavior as a window into consciousness and as essential to mental and physical health. The practical portion of this discussion will span optimal sleep, sleep disorders, and ethnographic and sociocultural aspects of sleep spanning 21st century challenges. The “culture to neuroscience” portion of the talk will cover definitions of sleep and consciousness, from Tibetan Buddhist practices to neuroscience. Sleep and dreams will be discussed in the context of other conscious states that have been the focus of recent cutting-edge science such as the practice of mindfulness and non-ordinary states of consciousness associated with plant medicine.

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