Sleep viewed as a state of adaptive inactivity.
Title | Sleep viewed as a state of adaptive inactivity. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2009 |
Authors | Siegel JM |
Journal | Nature Reviews Neuroscience |
Volume | 10 |
Issue | 10 |
Pagination | 747-53 |
Date Published | 2009 Oct |
ISSN | 1471-0048 |
Keywords | Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Hibernation, Humans, Phylogeny, Plants, Sleep, Species Specificity |
Abstract | Sleep is often viewed as a vulnerable state that is incompatible with behaviours that nourish and propagate species. This has led to the hypothesis that sleep has survived because it fulfills some universal, but as yet unknown, vital function. I propose that sleep is best understood as a variant of dormant states seen throughout the plant and animal kingdoms and that it is itself highly adaptive because it optimizes the timing and duration of behaviour. Current evidence indicates that ecological variables are the main determinants of sleep duration and intensity across species. |
DOI | 10.1038/nrn2697 |
Alternate Journal | Nat. Rev. Neurosci. |
PubMed ID | 19654581 |
Grant List | HL41370 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States MH64109 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States NS14610 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States NSF0234687 / / PHS HHS / United States |