It's no secret that here at The Huffington Post, we love sleep -- and for good reason. Sleep has been called the "third pillar" of health, along with nutrition and exercise. Getting the quality sleep that you need has the power to protect your physical and mental health, while skipping out on sleep can seriously hurt your health, cognition and well-being over time. Over the past 10 years, sleep has finally become widely recognized as a critical aspect of good health, and new research has shed more light on its importance in our lives.