Why Humans Need Less Sleep Than Other Animals

Researchers have been looking at the differences in sleep patterns between humans and other animals.
Now they have found out that humans need less sleep, but sleep better than other mammals. 21
primate species were studied, including monkeys, chimpanzees and lemurs.

Human sleep is of higher quality . One of the big differences is the time we spend in REM sleep, a kind of
intensive, deep sleep, in which we dream a lot. While, for example, monkeys spend only 5% of their
total sleep in REM status, we humans reach 25%, the highest rate of any primate species. According to
scientists, REM sleep is good for brain development.

We can get along with about 7 hours of sleep a day, while other primates need much more. Lemurs, for
example, can sleep for up to 17 hours while chimpanzees sleep around 11 hours a day.

Over millions of years of evolution our sleeping patterns have changed. Our ancestors, millions of years
ago, could not sleep as deeply as we do. They had to spend most of their time in the wilderness and be
aware of enemies at all times. The first humans probably slept in trees, where they built platforms to
rest properly.

About 2 million years ago the homo erectus left the trees. As they got heavier they started sleeping on
the ground where they gathered in groups around fires. They could sleep more deeply because they
took turns protecting themselves from enemies around them.

We could imagine that street lamps, computer screens and other forms of artificial lighting are
responsible for people sleeping for shorter periods of time, but researchers have found out that this is
not necessarily true.

The report shows that hunters and gatherers in Africa and South America , who don't have that much
access to electricity and artificial lighting, sleep even less than people in modern societies.

- Source : rachel CALAMUSA

Words
access = can get easily

according to = as said by ...

ancestor = here: person who lived millions of years ago

artificial lighting = light made by man, not the natural light of the sun

aware = to realize that something exists

brain = the organ inside your head that controls how you think, feel and move

deeply = intensively

development = the way something grows and becomes better

electricity = the power that is carried in cables and wires ; it gives us light and heat and makes machines
work

evolution = the way that animals and plants change over a period of time

gather = get together

gatherer = person who lives by hunting and collecting plants and berries

imagine = think

including = also

homo erectus = the first human who could walk upright; he/she lived about 2 million years ago

lemur = animal that looks like a monkey and has a long thick tail

mammal = type of animal that drinks milk from its mother's body when it is young

modern societies = developed areas in the world, where people live in a modern way

primate = member of a group of animals that includes humans and monkeys

properly = the right way, correctly

protect = defend yourself in a dangerous situation

reach = get as high as

REM = rapid eye movement = period during which your eyes move quickly, when you are dreaming

research = when you study a subject in order to find out more about it

responsible for = the reason for

sleep patterns = the way we sleep

species = group of animals that are like each other and can have babies together

status = phase, condition

wilderness = large area without any people