University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have invented a machine that makes you sleep with the PUSH OF A BUTTON (almost), then gives you the equivalent of eight hours of sleep in just two or three hours. The machine uses a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce the slow brain waves associated with the deepest phases of sleep.

Scientists in the US used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce slow waves - indicative of the deepest phase of sleep and essential for learning ability and mood, in a group of sleeping volunteers. A TMS device sends harmless magnetic signals through the scalp and skull and into the brain, where it activates electrical impulses. The researchers found that positioning the TMS machine the right way triggered slow waves that travelled throughout the brain. Slow wave activity occupies 80% of sleeping hours. During slow wave sleep, waves of electrical impulses wash across the brain at a rate of roughly one a second. With each magnetic pulse, the volunteers' brains immediately generated slow waves typical of deep sleep.

Side effects may include: nightmares about Cthulhu rising from R'lyeh, slaughtering your entire family, diarrhea, and a desire to escape from behind the wall of sleep.  Ahh just kidding :-D But who knows? ...Anyway, more details can be found here.