What is the biological utility of sleep?

Re: What is the biological utility of sleep?


My cat sleeps 1/2 of her life, and thats just to get enough energy to eat, poop and move to a different sleeping spot.

try this link ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep

Re: What is the biological utility of sleep?


Can you elaborate on your question? What do you specifically want to know about other animals' sleeping habits? Which animals, again?

For a general account of sleep stages, sleep physiology and the neurochemistry involved in the process, visit this page

Re: What is the biological utility of sleep?

Dolphins and Whales must surface periodically in order to breath and survive. So they can not sleep in the conventional sense that we do.

Instead, Dolphins and Whales allow one half of their brain to sleep at a time, while the other half remains conscious enough to swim and to surface for air.

The fact that they evolved this way seems to imply a rather strong need for some form of sleep.

Also, since most animals sleep periodically, and since any state of reduced awareness must impart some risk for survival, it implies that sleep is a necessity in some way.

As far as I know, fish sleep, and so do amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds. I'm not sure if insects and mollusks sleep. Maybe there is something associated with a spinal column and brain structure which requires sleep. But I think Octopi sleep, and they don't have spines, so maybe it's just something associated with brain size. Or maybe insects and snails DO sleep. If so, the need must be very fundamental to neural structures.

Good question.

could it be our brains simply need to "cool-off"?

im almost 95% sure thats actually what sleep is though...