+289 If you actually think about it, the concept of sleep (that your body just decides to shut down for several hours every night) is pretty weird. amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's inaccurate to say the body "shuts down" every night; the brain is still very active during sleep (by some measures, more active than during waking hours). And the idea that an organism needs rest in order to rejuvenate/heal/grow actually seems quite intuitive to me. What *is* weird to me is that we haven't yet pinpointed the exact mechanisms of sleep that make it necessary.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Couldn't have said it better. I think it would be very strange if we continued on daily without resting like how almost all animals and plants do.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I agree "shut down" was a poor choice of words.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

How is it weird? Most people work their asses work during the day, so it's perfectly reasonable that we need to rest each night (not "shut down", necessarily) before getting up and doing it all over again.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You totally missed the point of the post.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I guess I did. Call me an idiot, but I still don't get it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

No, it's like putting the phone to charge up during the night. It can't work forever.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It makes me feel like I'm a robot.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I would say if you //don't// think about, it seems pretty weird. Once you start thinking about it, it makes a lot more sense.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I get it. It's not weird that your body has to rest. OP likely means that its weird how your body assumes some sort of unconsciousness in order to fully rest.

by Anonymous 12 years ago