Sleep deprived thoughts.... about sleep.

[astrodudepsu]

So I got to thinking the other day, that I don't really know what goes on biologically to our bodies while we sleep. Why do humans need to sleep? We've all know it's to relax and recharge, but that's management talk. I want to know what sleeping actually does for us, in scientific terms. Any doc's/bio guys/gals know?

Along the same lines, where does sleep end in the animal kingdom? Humans sleep, and so do all the mammals I can think of. Sharks can turn part of their brain into standby mode to serve the same function as sleep. I don't know if all fish do that. What about jelly fish, shrimp, starfish, insects, arachnids, etc? What about bacteria, protists, and maybe even viruses?

Is it a matter of brains, chordates, or what? Does the complexity of organisms define when sleep is needed, or is it something else?

Seems like people waste a lot of time sleeping, 25-30% of your life if you get a decent amount of sleep.

 

[Ironhand]

Good question but as far as I can remember that the human brain can only go 10 days without sleep before it automatically shuts down. Not sure why or this could just be a rumor.

But I know after some long days your focus and perception goes away atleast for me. Ive had a few 26 hour days but that is in the past and you would be surprised how much things change after even a short nap in regards to your focus and perception of things

 

[thomas91169]

The brain is essentially "overheating" during the day and must be shut down/put into sleep mode so it can cool off and repair. It also uses this time to recompile all the days data, everything you learned, everything you saw, everything you did, compile and categorize every piece of info, and store it to your memory.

This is why if you learn something during the day nut you might not have really "gotten" it, youll usually have it figured out when you wake up.

The brain is an awesome computer. I wish i was more inot this stuff growing up, now looking back i wish i got into neurology and such.

I do believe the record is 2wks of no sleep; the patient was coherent but loopy and was very weak and unaware of alot of things going on around him. After an 8hr sleep period, his brain had returned to mormal as if he had only been up a standard wakd cycle (16hrs).

 

[JasonSnake]

^^^ like he said. You usually don't run a system backup in the middle of a busy production day, let's say at a call center.

Also, in my opinion, our dna has not kept up with our rapid advancement of lighting up the night with TV's, street lights, indoor lighting, PC screens, etc. So we keep on goin' on waaaay after the sun has set when we should really be going to sleep at the time. Back then, in our primordial days, there was nothing to do so late into the night.

edit: This might be a better answer but when we are asleep, the body is actually more active and hotter than when we are wide awake. So I suppose it is repairing / refueling itself as the night time hours go.

 

[Ry_Trapp0]

extremely interesting questions and hopefully some very interesting answers. i love this kind of stuff!

 

[Heater]

There is a family in Italy that has a genetic disorder that causes them to not be able to sleep.

When they get in their 50's is generally when it afflicts them and they will go months without sleep before they die.

Very sad.


http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/fatal-familial-insomnia.html

 

[James Snover]

With regard to the animal kingdom:

Horses only need 4 hours of sleep, but 8 hours of "down time."

Cats sleep about 70% of a 24 hour period.

Crows need less than one hour of sleep.

It seems the less intelligent a species is, the less sleep is needed. But that is only my own observation.

That's all I got.

Jim Snover

 

[Nickyoobatz]

The brain is essentially "overheating" during the day and must be shut down/put into sleep mode so it can cool off and repair. It also uses this time to recompile all the days data, everything you learned, everything you saw, everything you did, compile and categorize every piece of info, and store it to your memory.

This is why if you learn something during the day nut you might not have really "gotten" it, youll usually have it figured out when you wake up.

I guess this explains why sometimes I wake up and I'll have some random song stuck in my head?

 

[Mustang71]

Cats sleep about 70% of a 24 hour period.


Jim Snover

Agreed. My cat sleeps all f'n day

 

[streetassasin]

I have trouble sleeping, I work nights and usually dont go to sleep until 5pm and wake up at 9pm to go to work. My longest time ever without sleep is close to 50hrs

 

[astrodudepsu]

I wonder if dinosaurs slept more or less than we do?

Cats are an interesting case, they sure do sleep a lot. They aren't larger or smarter than humans, so maybe there are other factors.

Does metabolism play a part? I wonder what tortoise sleep is like.

 

[stangin99]

Our bodies in general do much of their repair work when we are asleep. I'm not sure how this is related to brain activity, but a very physically active person will need a lot of sleep in order to repair/replenish their muscles/tissues/bones/etc.

It's also proven that growth hormones are secreted at their highest rate while we are sleeping(proof that we recover/repair while we sleep).

 

[jerrad]

What about humming birds?
I can't imagine they get much sleep.

 

[lobra97]

used to be 2 theories
1: so our bodies can rest and recharge for the next day
2: so the we wouldn't be out in the dark w/ the creatures that lurk....no joke abnormal psych teacher told us that...i got skerrrred lol

 

[astrodudepsu]

Our bodies in general do much of their repair work when we are asleep. I'm not sure how this is related to brain activity, but a very physically active person will need a lot of sleep in order to repair/replenish their muscles/tissues/bones/etc.

It's also proven that growth hormones are secreted at their highest rate while we are sleeping(proof that we recover/repair while we sleep).

That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. This would explain why young children sleep more than adults. I wonder if that holds true for all things that sleep?

 

[canibus]

There is a family in Italy that has a genetic disorder that causes them to not be able to sleep.

When they get in their 50's is generally when it afflicts them and they will go months without sleep before they die.

Very sad.


Fatal Familial Insomnia: The FFI Sleep Disorder

that's terrible.

 

[txyaloo]

That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. This would explain why young children sleep more than adults. I wonder if that holds true for all things that sleep?

If that's the case, why do old people sleep more than "adults"?

 

[thomas91169]

If that's the case, why do old people sleep more than "adults"?

because as the body ages, each progressing day requires more effort, thus a longer regeneration period to repair. The body also takes longer to repair itself as you age.

 

[85FourEyedGT]

i read this a few weeks ago, there are a bunch of hormones and chemicals that are secreted only while we sleep, also sleep seems to be like a safety mechanism, it keeps you in one place for a significant amount of time and not out and about where you are in danger.

sleep is one of those strange things, kinda like aging, it seems that our body goes to great lengths to regenerate and repair us up until the point where we reach reproductive status, then after that it slows down the repairs and we slowly begin to die

stuff like this made me glad i chose to study science

 

[pho_phizzat]

I cant ever get enough sleep, i would sleep all day if i could