However much some of us might crave some extra shut-eye, in the animal
kingdom, sleep can be a dangerous time. Snoozing leaves us more
vulnerable to predators and means we aren't up and around looking for
food or mates. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have a
new hypothesis that might explain why species the world over sleep. A
new study in the journal Neuron presents evidence that sleep is the
price we pay for the ability to learn. Called the synaptic homeostasis
hypothesis of sleep or "SHY", the researchers argue that brain
connections may actually weaken during sleep. This allows the brain to
conserve energy and 'reset' itself, allowing for more learning the
following day. The scientists also cite evidence that sleep helps memory
by allowing the brain to forget unimportant details. Viewing the
primary function of sleep as decreasing the strength of connections
between synapse and increasing signal-to-noise ratio challenges many of
the existing theories on sleep and requires more testing to validate
several hypotheses, but scientists say it may help explain one of life's
most mysterious activities.
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