Sleep laboratory techniques have become so widely accepted that they are used to define sleep states, rather than merely to describe them, and these techniques are here reviewed. Experiments on animals have shown that sleep is universal, and is essential to life. It is also strongly influenced by biological rhythms, including the circadian rhythm, and there are a number of practical consequences for man. Studies of auditory perception, including verbal stimuli, have demonstrated evaluative psychological processing during sleep. It is still unclear how limited this processing capacity is, compared with waking levels. Learning during sleep has been demonstrated to be impractical – stimuli presented when subjects are truly asleep are never remembered, and sleep learning is only effective in so far as the procedure wakes the sleeper. The effect of sleep on the consolidation of memories of the previous day appears more complex, sleep stage dependent, and remains a possible indication of one of sleep's functions. Despite having limited perceptual processing capabilities, and no capacity to learn, the sleeper is capable of talking and walking, albeit somewhat ineffectually. More surprising is the accomplishment of being able to wake at a particular time – demanding a precision of time estimation better than that normally achieved when awake.
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