That necessary function- sleep

Call me a nerd if you must, but I'm so fascinated by sleep!  I'm beginning to think it will be the topic of my senior thesis and possibly future research (as I want to research and become a professor).  There are just SO many pieces to sleep that we have the tiniest understanding of.  For example, some animals including rodents will die if they aren't allowed to sleep.  Their bodies freak out and start to just shut down.  While there's no evidence that humans will die from lack of sleep, severe cognitive impairments and hallucinations start to appear not too long into sleep deprivation.  And do you know why?

Most of the time we only have this simple understanding
of sleep.

Well.... neither do I actually.  Or scientists if truth be told.  There's no elimination of a toxin that only happens at night.  No replenishment of some hormone for cognitive function.  We just start to fall apart.

Here's another mystery for consideration- night terrors.  These tend to happen in young children.  During non-REM sleep, sufferers start screaming often in a bloodcurdling manner.  Parents have trouble waking up their terrified children and when they do, the sufferers often can't explain what put them in such a terrified state.  It's not believed to be caused by dreams which typically happen during REM sleep.  And the next morning shows no ill-effects from the night's misadventure.

But our biological understanding of this disorder is practically non-existent.
~We don't know why they occur or how.
~They aren't a symptom for any future psychosis or other mental illnesses, but why haven't they been genetically selected against?
~They can occur in adults but are much more prevalent in children.  Why?

And I suppose you could say I have a vested interest in the topic of night terrors.  Around age 4, I began to get them with extreme frequency.  And I'm talking about multiple episodes a night.  This continued, even after medication, for the next several years.  Though the frequency subsided, I still will occasionally have night terrors.  I'm sure it drives my roommate crazy, but if I'm over stressed or have been overstimulated throughout the course of the day, I'm much more likely to have them.

And this one disease is only a tiny facet of the research that still needs to be done in the field of sleep.  I can't wait to see where the research progresses!