Although we still have many unanswered questions about why we spend one third of our lives sleeping, we do know that lack of sleep can have many negative effects. In a genetic condition known as fatal familial insomnia, middle-aged people gradually lose the ability to sleep. As the name of the disorder implies, the result of this sleep loss is eventual death. The exact cause of death is unknown, although the disorder is associated with damage to the thalamus (Gallassi et al., 1996).