Here’s something I feel very good about guaranteeing: Sleep will not be “cured” in 25 years. 

Transhumanist Presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan sees things very differently, believing the REM state a “disease,” a dress rehearsal for death, that robs us of waking life. He thinks within a quarter century we might not even need to sleep. I, on the other hand, think much of my self-awareness comes from analyzing my dreams. Beyond that, what Istvan proposes seems not even a remote biological possibility by 2040.

From his article on the topic at Vice Motherboard:

To me, sleeping is a disease. Luckily, in the next 25 years, scientists may cure it. For millions, that cure can’t come soon enough. I hate sleeping and always have. I see sleeping as an early form of dipping in and out of death. Sleeping is probably the most wasteful thing all humans do—we spend a third of our lives in basically a lobotomized state. I wish I could I will myself from doing it, but like everyone else, I’m a slave to my body and mind, and I require sleep to function normally.

…

While much has been made about how beneficial a good night of sleep is, few discuss that sleeping is stealing away conscious time with loved ones, hampering economies around the world, and even indirectly hurting our bodies. We should never forget we age whether we’re awake or sleeping. And while the studies say the better we sleep the longer we live, this information may be misleading. I believe we age much more in our sleep than our lifespans gain from sleeping well. Sleeping—like being awake—is slowly killing us.

Scientifically speaking, sleep is a process where internal restoration and recuperation of the body and mind takes place. Sleep is comprised of various cycles, which are often separated by two classifications: non-REM and REM sleep.

There are numerous researchers in the world working on ways to try to remain alert despite sleep deprivation.•