What's the point of sleeping?

Question

Do you ever ask yourself that? I just pulled yet another all-nighter... I'm so fed up with sleep lately. It just seems like a waste of time. I'd rather be awake and living life.

Well, I didn't mean "yet another all-nighter" as in... "in a row." I just find myself not wanting to go to bed lately. Insomnia, I suppose... but more like I just don't care to get into that little pile of blankets and be alone and unconscious for god knows how long....

Answer 1

Every "BODY' needs to shut down for repairs. All those living cells and internal organs need to be maintained. You can damage you immune system if you keep at it. If your sick you are no good to anyone and a burden to one who does not care.

Answer 2

The point of sleeping...Sleep is for resting the mind. Thought is a biological process with waste products given off by the cells. The accumulation of this is what we know as the feeling of mental fatigue, the desire to sleep. And it works. The waste products are taken away and after 6-8 hours of reduced mental activity, we feel refreshed.

Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. Perhaps you need less than most people. At some point, however, even you will feel mental fatigue and want to sleep. Extremely deprived of sleep, your brain functioning will degrade...you could hallucinate, make irrational decisions, etc. The idea is to get the right amount for you personally, but you certainly don't have to overdue it.

Answer 3

Sleep Is a Basic Human Need
Sleep is a natural part of everybody's life, but many people know very little about how important it is, and some even try to get by with little sleep. Sleep is something our bodies need to do; it is not an option. Even though the exact reasons for sleep remain a mystery, we do know that during sleep many of the body's major organ and regulatory systems continue to work actively. Some parts of the brain actually increase their activity dramatically, and the body produces more of certain hormones.

Sleep, like diet and exercise, is important for our minds and bodies to function normally. In fact, sleep appears to be required for survival. Rats deprived of sleep die within two to three weeks, a time frame similar to death due to starvation.

An internal biological clock regulates the timing for sleep. It programs each person to feel sleepy during the nighttime hours and to be active during the daylight hours. Light is the cue that synchronizes the biological clock to the 24-hour cycle of day and night.Inadequate sleep can cause decreases in:

Performance
Concentration
Reaction Times
Consolidation of Information Learning
Inadequate sleep can cause increases in:

Memory Lapses
Accidents and Injuries
Behavior Problems
Mood Problems

Answer 4

you said you were fed up with sleeping, LATELY.
I know someone who goes thru that occasionally, when she is on the manic side, and/or gets obsessed with staying up doing stuff. if/when this continues, do try to take at least a nap, and
at least call a doctor qualified to understand what could be going on, who will ask appropriate questions of you to figure this out. when you call, tell them how long you have been without sleep. you may be in need of a little help getting to sleep, at least temporarily. there is no substitute for sleep, and like the others have mentioned, sleep deprivation can be harmful or deadly.
do take care of yourself. it helps if you lay down, AND close your eyes, and practise slow, deep breathing...this should help you at least rest for a while. Good luck and sweet dreams, sometime soon I hope.

Answer 5

your body needs it and it is important ,
Sleep is the state of natural rest observed in most mammals, birds, fish, as well as invertebrates such as the fruitfly Drosophila. It is characterized by a reduction in voluntary body movement, decreased reaction to external stimuli, an increased rate of anabolism (the synthesis of cell structures), and a decreased rate of catabolism (the breakdown of cell structures). In humans, mammals and many other animals which have been studied, such as fish, birds, mice and fruitflies, regular sleep is necessary for survival. The capability for arousal from sleep is a protective mechanism and also necessary for health and survival. Sleep is not synonymous with unconsciousness.
The National Sleep Foundation maintains that eight hours of sleep for humans is optimal, claiming that it brings improved performance in tests, reduced risk of accidents, and a better immune system.[1] A widely publicized 2003 study[2] performed at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine demonstrated that cognitive performance declines with less than eight hours of sleep.

A University of California, San Diego psychiatry study found that people who live the longest sleep for four to seven hours each night[3]. However, this study cannot be used to determine optimal sleep amount because the study did not find cause, only correlation - and correlation does not imply causation.

Experts say that you cannot make up for the sleep you lost during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. They call it a sleeping binge. When you try to make up for this lost sleep in a day or two by sleeping in, it disrupts with your circadian rhythm. It also disrupts your sleeping pattern for the rest of the week, continuing the cycle of poor sleeping habits.

Answer 6

I ask this question myself all the time, so i did some reasearch a while ago and found that no one really knows why we sleep. It is still beeing studied and there are a couple of good guesses, but still there is no real answer to your question yet.

Answer 7

You sleep to physically restore the body. Sleep deprivation can lead to neurosis, hallucinations, and lots of other physical problems. Insomnia and mania are treatable; I'd look into both if I were you.

Answer 8

there's a biological history regarding this
back in the days before flashlights
all animals sleep at night
else they would run into a tree or something
makes sense?

Answer 9

Well...to live life you need the energy to do so. With that being said...sleep is the best answer to take it easy and rest.

Answer 10

If you didn't sleep you wouldn't be able to be awake and living life because you would die. Your body needs sleep to regenerate itself and without that your body would shut down.