People know when to sleep?

Although fish are still unable to close their eyes today (simply because they do not have eyelids), changes in the brain and muscular systems take place just like humans when we fall asleep.

Scientists have observed similar developments in mammals, birds and reptiles, but when they discovered that zebrafish also acted similarly, they found that the sleep was of an extremely ancient origin. , not the new mechanism that evolved in organisms recently.

Sleep has an extremely ancient origin.

'If the ancestors of modern mammals appeared 70 million years ago, the ancestors of fish species must be present on the earth about 450 - 500 million years ago,' said reporter Philippe Mourrain of the University. Stanford (USA). Like humans, fish relaxes their muscles, heart rate slows and does not respond to external stimuli during sleep. The biggest difference is that fish do not appear to have rapid eye movements during the REM period (the phase has just ended the deep sleep phase during sleep - NV) as we do.

'When our team found that the mechanisms of brain and body movement took place in a similar way in zebrafish and humans, it meant that nerve and muscle signals were more likely to have present in the common ancestor of animals more than 450 million years ago, ' according to The Independent quoted Dr. Mourrain.

Although researchers have not yet determined whether all animals go to sleep or simply take a short nap, temporarily it can be concluded that sleep is a common need of all species. .

Experts are also unclear about the benefits that sleep brings, or more precisely the reason why people need sleep is still a big mystery. However, people who do not get enough sleep suffer from conditions such as temporary memory loss, impaired judgment, and an increased risk of obesity and high blood pressure.