Sleep. Something we all do and are all familiar with. Whether we are an 8 hour a night person or refreshed with less, we all need it. It is essential to our survival.
Scientists think that pretty much every land dwelling mammal experiences sleep. Even dolphins sleep – although with half their brain at a time, which is a rather clever way of them staying alert enough to avoid predators and stay afloat to breathe.
Scientific studies mean we now know a bit more about sleep and why it is important, although there is still a lot that we do not know. Why we need daily sleep is still not certain for example.
So what is sleep all about and why do we need it? Let’s start with a little bit of science…