2026-05-17T00:15:31Zhttps://repisalud.isciii.es/rest/oai/requestoai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/235362024-10-04T13:57:59Zcom_20.500.12105_15322com_20.500.12105_2051col_20.500.12105_16967
Repisalud
author
Rial, Rubén V
author
Cañellas, Francesca
author
Akaârir, Mourad
author
Rubiño Díaz, Jose Ángel
author
Barceló, Pere
author
Martín-Reina, Aida
author
Gamundí, Antoni
author
Nicolau Llobera, Maria Cristina
2024-10-04T13:57:59Z
2024-10-04T13:57:59Z
2022-05-11
Rial R V., Canellas F, Akaârir M, Rubiño JA, Barceló P, Martín A, et al. The Birth of the Mammalian Sleep. Biology (Basel). 2022 May 11;11(5):734
10.3390/biology11050734
2079-7737
Biology
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13003/18553
35625462
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/23536
801664900001
Mammals evolved from small-sized reptiles that developed endothermic metabolism. This allowed filling the nocturnal niche. They traded-off visual acuity for sensitivity but became defenseless against the dangerous daylight. To avoid such danger, they rested with closed eyes in lightproof burrows during light-time. This was the birth of the mammalian sleep, the main finding of this report. Improved audition and olfaction counterweighed the visual impairments and facilitated the cortical development. This process is called "The Nocturnal Evolutionary Bottleneck". Pre-mammals were nocturnal until the Cretacic-Paleogene extinction of dinosaurs. Some early mammals returned to diurnal activity, and this allowed the high variability in sleeping patterns observed today. The traits of Waking Idleness are almost identical to those of behavioral sleep, including homeostatic regulation. This is another important finding of this report. In summary, behavioral sleep seems to be an upgrade of Waking Idleness Indeed, the trait that never fails to show is quiescence. We conclude that the main function of sleep consists in guaranteeing it during a part of the daily cycle.
eng
The Birth of the Mammalian Sleep
research article