Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] Why Do Humans Need Sleep?

[Jonathan King <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Thu, 21 Nov 2002, Neil Bradshaw wrote:

> Sitting up once again getting ready to spend another eight hours in bed
> when I have so much to do, I often wonder about this. Do we really
> *need* rest? Is it just a biological clock? Does our body really have to
> shut down?

Well, wakefulness is pretty energy-intensive, so most organisms have found 
it adaptive to shut down during times when (for example) the probability 
of gathering food is low.  Being highly visual creatures, we're active 
during the day (okay, so our ancestors were crepuscular).  Many species
are nocturnal.

Now, in addition to that, mammals (at least) apparently need sleep for
other reasons as well.  So if you REM-sleep deprive a rat for like a week, 
it will flat out die, even if it has an abundance of calories and a 
controlled environment.  It seems to be getting clearer these days that
the process of memory consolidation requires sleep as well.

Sweet dreams...

jking


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