Discuss Evolutionary Explanations of the Function of Sleep

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We know that sleep must be adaptive in some way, otherwise why do all animals do it despite substantial costs? The Evolutionary explanations suggest that sleep has evolved into an essential behaviour because it provides some vital biological advantage that promotes survival. The evolutionary approach has also been called the ecological approach. It is called ‘ecological’ because it is based on observations of animals in their natural environment; evolutionary psychology states that any behaviour we see today evolves if it provides a selective advantage for the animal. The evolutionary explanations focus on ecological niches which refers to the lifestyle of animals; how they live, where they sleep etc. All these factors have to be taken into account as they are very relevant to sleep. For example: the environment, of which the animal is in, is an important factor to consider. Whether the animal is an aquatic or terrestrial one will have an effect on the animal’s duration of sleep. Fish sleep differently to land animals. For example dolphins sleep for seconds at a time. Whether the animal is diurnal or nocturnal is also important. Hamsters, bats and owls are only active at night, this has been evolved. The first theory is Meddis’ waste of time hypothesis. He suggested that sleep helps animals stay out of the way of predators during the parts of the day when they are most vulnerable. For most animals this means, sleeping during the hours of darkness. It also means sleeping in places where they will be hidden. According to Meddis, sleep may simply ensure that animals stay still when they have nothing better to do with their time. For example: diurnal animals can’t look for food at night so they go to sleep to stay out of harm. In support of Meddis’ waste of time hypothesis, Siegal says that being awake is riskier than being asleep because an animal is more likely

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