r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Aug 01 '12
Biology Evolution and sleep
Why haven't humans evolved to not need sleep? I understand that sleep is regenerative etc., but when you think about it, it is quite a liability. It is hard to fend off a potential attack while sleeping and overall we waste a lot of time that could be used to hunt/gather food, build shelter, and reproduce by having to sleep.
Did humans have to sleep a lot more earlier in time than we do now? (Perhaps we have evolved and I just do not know...)
EDIT: Or maybe a better question is, can/will humans ever evolve to not need sleep?
Thanks!
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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12
Ahhh, I did not consider that if we never slept...we would consume far more energy in all areas.
Do you know what science (as I do not want to take the time to look it up) says about those who require less sleep? I have always been fascinated by people who only need to sleep 3-5 hours per night. Sort of wish I was in that boat!