The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say

Over the years, scientists have come up with a lot of ideas about why we sleep.

Some have argued that it’s a way to save energy. Others have suggested that slumber provides an opportunity to clear away the brain’s cellular waste. Still others have proposed that sleep simply forces animals to lie still, letting them hide from predators.

More…

Tau.Neutrino said:

The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say

Over the years, scientists have come up with a lot of ideas about why we sleep.

Some have argued that it’s a way to save energy. Others have suggested that slumber provides an opportunity to clear away the brain’s cellular waste. Still others have proposed that sleep simply forces animals to lie still, letting them hide from predators.

More…

There are many stages of sleep. Each stage has a different purpose.

mollwollfumble said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say

Over the years, scientists have come up with a lot of ideas about why we sleep.

Some have argued that it’s a way to save energy. Others have suggested that slumber provides an opportunity to clear away the brain’s cellular waste. Still others have proposed that sleep simply forces animals to lie still, letting them hide from predators.

More…

There are many stages of sleep. Each stage has a different purpose.

Its interesting how dreams change and combine previous information to create entirely new experiences, it would be interesting to unlock it and see if AI cyborgs could do a similar thing.

Tau.Neutrino said:

mollwollfumble said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say

Over the years, scientists have come up with a lot of ideas about why we sleep.

Some have argued that it’s a way to save energy. Others have suggested that slumber provides an opportunity to clear away the brain’s cellular waste. Still others have proposed that sleep simply forces animals to lie still, letting them hide from predators.

More…

There are many stages of sleep. Each stage has a different purpose.

Its interesting how dreams change and combine previous information to create entirely new experiences, it would be interesting to unlock it and see if AI cyborgs could do a similar thing.

Yes it would be interesting, deliberately induce a dreamlike state in an AI and see what happens. Heating the AI may suffice. And/or playing with the voltages.

I’m bound to say: this is not a new idea, at all.

dv said:

I’m bound to say: this is not a new idea, at all.

True. The idea is antediluvian.

The following is new to me.
“There is unequivocal agreement on increased susceptibility to epilepsy during slow-wave sleep. A large number of studies have shown increased frequency of seizures in epileptic patients during slow wave sleep”.

“metabolic waste products of neural activity were cleared out of the sleeping rat brain at a faster rate than during the awake state. This finding suggests a mechanistic explanation for how sleep serves a restorative function, in addition to its well-described effects on memory consolidation”.

From 2002. This guy sounds like an idiot. He seems to be equating the question “what is the purpose of sleep” to “what is the meaning of life”.
“Leading sleep scientists appear to be agreed that the fundamental purpose and function of this ubiquitous phase of life remains a mystery … a differentiation must be made between the purpose of sleep and the mechanism of sleep. Analysing various components of the sleep mechanism, even if this were to be done in the greatest possible detail, would not necessarily provide a better understanding as to the purpose of sleep”.

What is the purpose of drowsiness?
“While significant research has been done into the physiological mechanisms that underlie sleep and the sleep/wake cycle, the available data regarding the nature of drowsiness is far more limited.”

Biological machines get tired so I’d have thought the main purpose of sleep is to put the body into low energy usage mode and attempt to repair damage at optimal efficiency plus allow various systems to reboot.

Cymek said:

Biological machines get tired so I’d have thought the main purpose of sleep is to put the body into low energy usage mode and attempt to repair damage at optimal efficiency plus allow various systems to reboot.

There are a couple of things I haven’t mentioned yet.

1. Some people exist who can get by quite happily on 2 hours sleep a week.
2. Sleep is remarkably universal among animals.

mollwollfumble said:

Cymek said:

Biological machines get tired so I’d have thought the main purpose of sleep is to put the body into low energy usage mode and attempt to repair damage at optimal efficiency plus allow various systems to reboot.

There are a couple of things I haven’t mentioned yet.

1. Some people exist who can get by quite happily on 2 hours sleep a week.
2. Sleep is remarkably universal among animals.

So it’s a biological limitation by the sounds of it which makes sense.
I wonder if people that get by on 2 hour sleep a week differ in a detectable way

Cymek said:

I wonder if people that get by on 2 hour sleep a week differ in a detectable way

I agree. I have seen such a person on TV. The person I’m thinking of claimed not to sleep at all, but constant monitoring showed that at the end of the week he fell asleep in front of TV and woke up feeling refreshed after two hours without being aware that he had been asleep.

It would be very nice to know in what other ways such people differ from the norm eg. mental illness? stress-free environment? brain scan?

I do it so not so tired while awake

seems contagious as most of the species does it for the same purpose

transition said:

I do it so not so tired while awake

seems contagious as most of the species does it for the same purpose

re the diurnal thing, there’s the possibility of tripping over stuff, and maybe falling off a cliff, eyes requiring an external source of light as they do. And night time temperatures (in many parts of the world, cold seasons and all) can be a bit of challenge to homeostasis, again to do with making good use of that fireball way off yonder, called the sun.

The earth spins too, has been doing it (reliably) for a long time, way way back, through evolutionary history. Still doing it today(spinning), completely independent of what human minds do.

There may come a day though, when world leaders, receptive as they are to what their subjects want, can stop the world spinning, or turn the sun on and off like a light switch.

transition said:

transition said:

I do it so not so tired while awake

seems contagious as most of the species does it for the same purpose

re the diurnal thing, there’s the possibility of tripping over stuff, and maybe falling off a cliff, eyes requiring an external source of light as they do. And night time temperatures (in many parts of the world, cold seasons and all) can be a bit of challenge to homeostasis, again to do with making good use of that fireball way off yonder, called the sun.

The earth spins too, has been doing it (reliably) for a long time, way way back, through evolutionary history. Still doing it today(spinning), completely independent of what human minds do.

There may come a day though, when world leaders, receptive as they are to what their subjects want, can stop the world spinning, or turn the sun on and off like a light switch.

Eventually all computers need a restart.

roughbarked said:

transition said:

transition said:

I do it so not so tired while awake

seems contagious as most of the species does it for the same purpose

re the diurnal thing, there’s the possibility of tripping over stuff, and maybe falling off a cliff, eyes requiring an external source of light as they do. And night time temperatures (in many parts of the world, cold seasons and all) can be a bit of challenge to homeostasis, again to do with making good use of that fireball way off yonder, called the sun.

The earth spins too, has been doing it (reliably) for a long time, way way back, through evolutionary history. Still doing it today(spinning), completely independent of what human minds do.

There may come a day though, when world leaders, receptive as they are to what their subjects want, can stop the world spinning, or turn the sun on and off like a light switch.

Eventually all computers need a restart.

Pity humans don’t get updates

Tau.Neutrino said:

The Purpose of Sleep? To Forget, Scientists Say

Over the years, scientists have come up with a lot of ideas about why we sleep.

Some have argued that it’s a way to save energy. Others have suggested that slumber provides an opportunity to clear away the brain’s cellular waste. Still others have proposed that sleep simply forces animals to lie still, letting them hide from predators.

More…

I did not open the link but can state that growth hormones are released when babies , toddlers, children and teenagers sleep.

Some children have poor growth rates and appropriate weight gain when they are poor sleepers or don’t sleep have considered to be adequate sleep and rest periods.

Conversely some adults may develop weight stabilisation issues when sleep patterns are poor or considered to be inadequate.

Has there been any research into the topic of how long people sleep as a function of air temperature?

For instance, do people in tropical countries sleep for a longer or shorter time than those in unheated rooms in temperate climates?

mollwollfumble said:

Has there been any research into the topic of how long people sleep as a function of air temperature?

For instance, do people in tropical countries sleep for a longer or shorter time than those in unheated rooms in temperate climates?

At least one person who grew up in a cool temperate climate sleeps for a much shorter time when it is hot at night.