Why do our bodies need to sleep?

Sleep is often seen as a waste of time. Many businessmen, politicians, and celebrities boast about sleeping only 5 hours per night or even being insomniacs. However, despite its sometimes bad reputation, sleep is essential for maintaining good health and aging well. Bear in mind that no one has ever gone longer than 11 and a half days without sleeping. As a point of comparison, Scottish man Angus Barbieri went 382 days without eating any solid food in the 1960s, and in 1979 an Austrian man survived 18 days without any food or water. So you can understand just how essential sleep is for human life. What does our body do during sleep ? What happens during REM sleep ? Does sleep also help us assimilate experiences we've had during the daytime ? Are there any other theories out there? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: What is Rufus the Hawks job at Wimbledon? What is an eco-friendly beach ? Why do we get grumpy when we're hungry? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Joseph Chance. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices