Why We Sleep

One of the question that will be answer in my essay is why we sleep? Is it because of an ancient survival instinct we have? It very well could be however another explanation for why we sleep is based on the belief that sleep is for our bodies to restore what we lost in the body while we were awake. It is thought to provide the body with the rest it needs in order to repair itself. We have been able to gather information about sleep due to human and animal study and research alike. One of the things we have learned from animal research is that the animals who are deprived of sleep start to have their immune system deteriorate. We can support this claim because of the findings of the hormones that are released. One of the other positive aspects of sleep is that when we

Sleep has been linked to many different theories of why we sleep. One of the first ever Theron 's the inactivity theory, this describes sleep as protection from predators or ourselves. On other theory is that it is to conserve our energy, it states that sleep is so that your body uses the least amount of energy as it can. The next theory is the restorative theory, the restorative theory is nothing too new it says that the body sleeps to fix and restore body so that it could get ready for the next day. The last theory is the newest and most in depth description, it 's in the brain plasticity theory. The structure of the brain has been found to form as you sleep. It showed in an infant 's brain a baby sleeps 13 to 14 hours a day in which most of their brain forms. It will help them remember and become smarter, so how can it affect learning.

The question “why do we sleep?” is a very difficult question to answer. One way to think about why sleep is important is looking at sleep as if it was food. Food helps us feel better and also helps the human body function properly.There are many different assumptions on why we sleep.The first is that sleeping allows the body to repair cells damaged by metabolic

Researchers do not agree on why we sleep therefore different sleep theories have been presented. Repair and Restoration Sleep Theory maintains that non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep restores physiologic functions and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is key to restoring mental functioning. There are multiple aspects of support for this theory. After sleep deprivation there is a need for longer REM sleep and there is an increased rate of cell division. Sleep is important to maintain normal immune function and fight off disease and infections. The Adaptive Theory focuses on the cycle of energy expenditure and conservation of energy as a necessity for energy conservation. Supporting this theory are the fact that animals with few predators sleep more than animals with many natural predators. A third and most popular theory is the Information

Sleep is an extremely interesting phenomenon in which the mind almost completely departs from the usual realm of consciousness. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness and a decreased ability to react to stimuli where we become less aware of our surroundings. However, it is more easily reversed than being in hibernation or a coma. It is a function that has been extensively researched by many. After all, we would not have evolved a mechanism that forces us to spend one-third of our lives sleeping unless sleep did us some good. What good does it do tough? Over the years, many theories have been proposed as to why we need sleep. The simplest is that it saves energy. An individual’s energy expenditure and demand is reduced during the day,

The two general approaches taken by theories of sleep is both restoration and evolutionary theories. Restoration theories suggest that sleep exists in order to repair and restore the body. While the evolutionary theories that relate sleep ability to survive in a hostile environment.

It is no secret that, similar to other animals, sleep is one of the most important things for a human being’s overall health. According to Watson and Breedlove, there are four main biological/neurological functions of sleep: energy conservation—the body uses less energy when it is asleep through what is called slow-wave sleep (SWS) by doing things such as reducing body temperature and slowing respiration; niche adaptation—the environmental happenings to which organisms are adapted to; body restoration—it restores materials used during awake hours; and memory consolidation—SWS and REM sleep help the brain consolidate memories from the previous day (2012).

Despite the unanswered questions and the unknown factors behind sleep and dreams, there are many theories behind their purposes. Many popular sleep theories have to do with keeping out body and mind in top shape. Some examples of sleep theories are: protection, recuperation, memory restoration, and growth. (Myers, 2014) All of these theories are beneficial to the body and its functionality. The protection theory assumes that the feeling of sleep kicks in when it is dark or dangerous out and danger is more prevalent.

“Why did you sleep in so late?” A question everyone has been asked and then abruptly replied with “I guess I was just tired.” But why were you tired? Well to be completely honest we don’t know for sure. But we do have theories on why we may sleep, including the: Inactivity Theory, Energy Conservation Theory, Restorative Theories, and the Brain Plasticity Theory. These theories are still very controversial for most scientists. Even though we don't know why, we do know it’s necessary to survive since its reflexive and it enables us able to function.

Sleep is not actually the episode in time when your brain or body goes dominant as most of us believe; in truth sleep is another state of consciousness. So, while you sleep your perceptual window remains slightly open. Sleep is aperiodic, natural, reversible and near total loss of consciousness. We actually spend one third of our lives sleeping, we know it is essential for our health, but scientists are yet to present us with a consensus as to why we do it.

Every day scientists have been performing sleep and dream tests on people for the past decades but could not come up with an exact reasoning to why we sleep or dream. There are many theories to why we dream they may include that it may be a physiological, biological, or psychological functions but that have not to be answered. But that have not stopped many scientists from coming up with speculations. But we do know that our dream cycle is usual most lavish and finest during the rapid eye movement of sleep also known as the REM stage of sleeping. Dream are still to be considered to be a mystery because they have a litter meaning to them and it hard to recall what happened in the dream. Except the fact that many scientists in the scientific

When we sleep, important connections are strengthened and unimportant ones are pruned (Ghosh, 2015). Sleep is also an opportunity for the brain to be cleared of any unwanted waste and plays an important role in memory consolidation. Benington and Heller, researchers at Stanford, stated, “Sleep has therefore evolved as a state in which animals retreat to a safe environment, behavior is suppressed, and glycogen stores are replenished.” Sleep serves as a survival function. Without it, it interferes with information processing and specifically learning and memory (Nierenberg, 2016). This makes it more difficult for people to respond to their environment, have motivation to do things, and to recover from stress. A vital role of sleep is to help us solidify and consolidate memories (“Why do we sleep?, n.d.). Sleep consolidates memories and enhances learning, when getting the right amount. Sleeping betters your health by improving your immune system. It can also benefit things such as decreasing pain, allowing the body to heal, having a better mood, and being a much more clearer thinker (Breus, n.d.). Healthy sleep is critical for everyone, since we all need to retain information and learn skills to thrive in life (“Why do we need sleep?”,

Dr. Foster explained three common theories of why we sleep. These were restoration, energy conservation, and brain function. The first theory, restoration, basically states that what energy we use in the day, we replace and rebuild while we sleep. The theory goes back more than 2,300 years ago, but has been popular because many genes have shown to only turn on while we are asleep. Those genes are associated with metabolism and restoration. Dr. Foster agrees this theory is backed up with good evidence, but is not necessarily the one he believes is most accurate.

What is sleep? The dictionary definition of sleep is as follows, “a condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended,” (Definition). While this is undoubtedly true, there is so much more on the mystery of sleep. For many years people have wondered and debated on why humans sleep. There used to be many theories on why humans slept. With more advanced technology and stronger research many have been ruled out. In today’s society there are three commonly accepted, but debated, theories on

 A most popular theory on why we sleep is the restorative theory of sleep: