<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:st1 =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2668" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">I
found this, stopped what I was doing, filched it, wrote a few sentences on
it for you, and here it is. Just something to niggle at your brain while
it niggles at mine...</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">The
evolutionary reason for sleep and for the dream for flying are two of the most
intriguing unanswered mysteries faced by modern psychology.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If the work of sleep researchers like J.
Alan Hobson and William Dement give you the feeling that sleep is at least one
area of study we can afford to pause and take a nap about, think again.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Don’t even bother to think.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Just ponder this simple
eye-opener:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">“<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Dolphins sleep with one-half of the brain
at a time, closing one eye while floating or swimming about.”</B></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Does
that jar you awake?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It certainly
snaps me to attention. Now the question is this. Why DO we
sleep? (And why do we dream of flying?) Does anyone have hard
research or persuasive anecdote on this...aside from the usual suspects, like we
sleep to digest the learning from experiences of the day?
Howard</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Here’s the article this comes from:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Retrieved <SPAN style="mso-no-proof: yes">July 3,
2005</SPAN>, from the World Wide Web </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050702/fob1.asp
Science News Online<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Week of July 2,
2005; Vol. 168, No. 1 Sleepless in SeaWorld: Some newborns and moms forgo
slumber<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Naila Moreira<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Orca-whale and dolphin mothers and their
newborns appear not to sleep for a month after the pups' birth, researchers
report. Neither parent nor offspring shows any ill effects from the long waking
stint, and the animals don't later compensate with extra sleep.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>a6302_1551.jpg<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>UP WITH THE BABY. An orca-whale mother
and her newborn pup may forgo sleep for several weeks before adopting a normal
pattern. Dolphins also exhibit this behavior. SeaWorld, <st1:City><st1:place>San
Diego</st1:place></st1:City><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No
previously studied mammal stays awake for so long, says Jerry Siegel of the
<st1:place><st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType> of
<st1:PlaceName>California</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, <st1:City><st1:place>Los
Angeles</st1:place></st1:City> (UCLA), an investigator in the study.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the months following their wakeful
period, baby whales and dolphins—and their mothers—ramped up slowly to sleep
amounts typical of normal adults, Siegel and his colleagues report. The infants'
sleep pattern contrasts with that of other mammals, which need extra sleep
during infancy and gradually sleep less as they age.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Oleg Lyamin, also of UCLA, started
observing an orca mother and her baby just after it was born at SeaWorld,
<st1:City><st1:place>San Diego</st1:place></st1:City>. Orcas usually snooze for
5 to 8 hours a night, closing both eyes and floating motionlessly.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The SeaWorld orca mother and baby,
Lyamin found, neither shut their eyes nor remained motionless. Instead, the
animals were constantly active, with the infant surfacing for a breath every 30
seconds. The researchers made similar observations of another SeaWorld orca mom
and baby.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The team also watched
dolphins at the Utrish Dolphinarium in
<st1:City><st1:place>Moscow</st1:place></st1:City>. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Dolphins sleep with one-half of the brain
at a time, closing one eye while floating or swimming about.</B> The team
observed no sleeping behavior in the first month after birth among four dolphin
mom-baby pairs.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The findings,
reported in the June 30 Nature, challenge prevailing notions of the purpose of
sleep, some researchers say. "We're under the belief that if you don't get
sleep, you can't perform, and you're at risk for developing all sorts of
disorders," says Paul Shaw of
<st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Washington</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> in
<st1:City><st1:place>St. Louis</st1:place></st1:City>. For instance, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">rats die after being deprived of sleep for
just 2 weeks.</B><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The UCLA data are
"the beginning of a change in the way we view sleep," says Shaw.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Scientists have commonly hypothesized that
people and other animals require sleep for brain development and learning</B>
(SN: 6/1/02, p. 341: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020601/fob6.asp).
"Here we have a developing [whale or dolphin] youngster with no evidence of
sleep," says Irene Tobler of ETH-Zurich in
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region>. "It
will revolutionize many people's ways of thinking."<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Siegel argues that sleep is not required
for brain development in these and other young animals and instead plays some
role as yet unknown.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Alternatively,
whales and dolphins may have evolved unusual compensatory mechanisms that permit
them to develop without sleep, while other animals still require sleep for brain
development, Tobler says.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Robert
Stickgold of <st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Harvard</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> suggests that <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">mother and baby whales and dolphins may
have evolved an unusual form of sleeping. "A sleepwalker makes it down the
stairs, into the kitchen, into the refrigerator quite well while a [brain wave]
recording says they're in deep sleep,"</B> he notes.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Stickgold says that such recordings from
the animals could help determine whether the orcas and dolphins are awake.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Siegel speculates that mothers and
babies of both species need constant activity to survive. The mother pushes the
baby to the surface to breathe at regular intervals. Also, the baby must stay
warm in cold water while it develops its blubber coat.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"The mystery is that they're ...
dispensing with sleep behavior when so many sleep researchers have assumed that
sleep has a vital function," Siegel says.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>If you have a comment on this article that you would like considered for
publication in Science News, send it to editors@sciencenews.org. Please include
your name and location.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To
subscribe to Science News (print), go to https://www.kable.com/pub/scnw/
subServices.asp.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To sign up for the
free weekly e-LETTER from Science News, go to
http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/subscribe_form.asp.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>References:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>2005. No sleep in the deep: Unlike other
mammals, newborn dolphins and killer whales stay active 24/7 during first months
of development. <st1:place><st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType> of
<st1:PlaceName>California</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, <st1:City><st1:place>Los
Angeles</st1:place></st1:City> press release. June 29. Available at
http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=6274.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Lyamin, O. . . . and J. Siegel. 2005.
Animal behaviour: Continuous activity in cetaceans after birth. Nature 435(June
30):1177. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/4351177a.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Further
<st1:City><st1:place>Readings</st1:place></st1:City>:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Bower, B. 2002. Snooze power: <st1:time
Minute="0" Hour="12">Midday</st1:time> nap may awaken learning potential.
Science News 161(June 1):341. Available at
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020601/fob6.asp.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Brownlee, C. 2005. Losing sleep: Mutant
flies need less shut-eye. Science News 167(April 30):275. Available at
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050430/fob2.asp.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Hesman, T. 2000. Fly naps inspire dreams
of sleep genetics. Science News 157(Feb. 19):117. Available at
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20000219/fob4.asp.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Milius, S. 2004. Sparrows cheat on
sleep: Migratory birds are up at night but still stay sharp. Science News
166(July 17):38. Available at
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040717/fob7.asp.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Sources:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Paul Shaw Anatomy and Neurobiology
<st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Washington</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:PlaceType>School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> of Medicine 660 S. Euclid
Avenue Campus <st1:Street>Box</st1:Street> 8108 St. Louis,
<st1:State>MO</st1:State> 63110<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Jerry Siegel Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Center for Sleep
Research Neurobiology Research 151A3 VA GLAHS Sepulveda 16111 Plummer Street
North Hills, <st1:State>CA</st1:State> 91343<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Robert Stickgold Center for Sleep and
Cognition <st1:PlaceName>Harvard</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName>Medical</st1:PlaceName> School Beth
<st1:PlaceName>Israel</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName>Deaconess</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName>Medical</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType>Center</st1:PlaceType>
E/FD861 330 Brookline Avenue Boston, <st1:State>MA</st1:State> 02115<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Irene Tobler
<st1:place><st1:PlaceType>Institute</st1:PlaceType> of
<st1:PlaceName>Pharmacology</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> and Toxicology
<st1:PlaceType>University</st1:PlaceType> of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190
CH-8057 Zurich Switzerland<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050702/fob1.asp<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>From Science News, Vol. 168, No. 1,
<st1:date Year="2005" Day="2" Month="7">July 2, 2005</st1:date>, p. 3.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Copyright (c) 2005 Science Service. All
rights reserved. </FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">----------<BR>Howard Bloom<BR>Author of The Lucifer Principle: A
Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History and Global Brain: The Evolution
of Mass Mind From The Big Bang to the 21st Century<BR>Recent Visiting
Scholar-Graduate Psychology Department, New York University; Core Faculty
Member, The Graduate
Institute<BR>www.howardbloom.net<BR>www.bigbangtango.net<BR>Founder:
International Paleopsychology Project; founding board member: Epic of Evolution
Society; founding board member, The Darwin Project; founder: The Big Bang Tango
Media Lab; member: New York Academy of Sciences, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Psychological Society, Academy of Political
Science, Human Behavior and Evolution Society, International Society for Human
Ethology; advisory board member: Institute for Accelerating Change ; executive
editor -- New Paradigm book series.<BR>For information on The International
Paleopsychology Project, see: www.paleopsych.org<BR>for two chapters from
<BR>The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History,
see www.howardbloom.net/lucifer<BR>For information on Global Brain: The
Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century, see
www.howardbloom.net<BR></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>