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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Scientists: Is Sleep Essential?

Filed under: in the news...

Writing in the latest PLoS Biology, researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison are wondering whether sleep is really a biological necessity, or maybe it's just a function created by evolution to kill time and avoid stress.

From the article in PLoS Biology:

Everybody knows that sleep is important, yet the function of sleep seems like the mythological phoenix: “Che vi sia ciascun lo dice, dove sia nessun lo sa” (“that there is one they all say, where it may be no one knows,” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte [1790], Così fan tutte). But what if the search for an essential function of sleep is misguided? What if sleep is not required but rather a kind of extreme indolence that animals indulge in when they have no more pressing needs, such as eating or reproducing? In many circumstances sleeping may be a less dangerous choice than roaming around, wasting energy and exposing oneself to predators. Also, if sleep is just one out of a repertoire of available behaviors that is useful without being essential, it is easier to explain why sleep duration varies so much across species. This “null hypothesis” would explain why nobody has yet identified a core function of sleep. But how strong is the evidence supporting it? And are there counterexamples?

So far the null hypothesis has survived better than alternatives positing some core function for sleep [8–10]. In what follows we shall test the null hypothesis by considering three of its key corollaries. If the null hypothesis were right, we would expect to find: (1) animals that do not sleep at all; (2) animals that do not need recovery sleep when they stay awake longer; and, finally, (3) that lack of sleep occurs without serious consequences.

Article in PLoS Biology: Is Sleep Essential?

Check out this illustration from the article that lists animal species in which the presence of sleep and/or Its homeostatic regulation have been called into question...

email this article to a friend      print this!           comments and peer reviews (5)




replies: 5 comments
Open comments are not moderated, although abusive and vulgar remarks may be deleted. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Medgadget.com. Please consult our disclaimer.

I should think that by now we'd have some evidence on the question of how essential sleep is, given the availability of drugs such as modifinil, which make sleep optional, and are largely without side effect. You keep seeing assurances that there's *something* bad about using them for extended periods, but those assurances are strangely unspecific, suggesting that nobody's done the relevant tests.

Of course, there's the issue that sleep might not be specifically necessary, but our biology might be adapted to it's existence in various ways, such as under producing certain neurotransmitters on the assumption that there will be some down time in their use.


Posted by: Brett Bellmore
on August 28, 2008 05:54 AM GMT

That is the cutest photo EVER! :)


Posted by: Dr. Val
on August 28, 2008 07:29 AM GMT


Sleep deprivation studies were done in concentration camps by Dr. Mengele.

Rats deprived of sleep lose hypothalamic function and subsequently have dramatic fluctuations in body temperature and ultimately die of overwhelming sepsis. Rats die quicker from lack of sleep than from lack of food or lack of water.

A recent study in New Scientist cited work that rats deprived of sleep initially lose their flight response - staying in the open despite the presence of predatory birds.


Posted by:
on October 30, 2008 11:36 PM GMT

Sleep deprivation studies were done in concentration camps by Dr. Mengele.

Rats deprived of sleep lose hypothalamic function and subsequently have dramatic fluctuations in body temperature and ultimately die of overwhelming sepsis. Rats die quicker from lack of sleep than from lack of food or lack of water.

A recent study in New Scientist cited work that rats deprived of sleep initially lose their flight response - staying in the open despite the presence of predatory birds.


Posted by: Michael
on October 30, 2008 11:36 PM GMT

Sleep deprivation studies were done in concentration camps by Dr. Mengele.

Rats deprived of sleep lose hypothalamic function and subsequently have dramatic fluctuations in body temperature and ultimately die of overwhelming sepsis. Rats die quicker from lack of sleep than from lack of food or lack of water.

A recent study in New Scientist cited work that rats deprived of sleep initially lose their flight response - staying in the open despite the presence of predatory birds.


Posted by: Michael
on October 30, 2008 11:37 PM GMT

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