Why do we sleep?

“ Because we get sleepy….”                                                  (William C Dement)

It is not exactly clear as to why we sleep.  What we do know, is that if we do not sleep, it has significant and negative consequences.

There are probably a number of reasons why we sleep – i.e. allowing the brain (and body) to rest and to consolidate various memories experienced or information learnt during the day.

Another theory suggests that we sleep, because human beings are not adapted to moving around safely when it is dark outside, and therefore it is safer to rather stay in a safe environment and spend the night sleeping.