睡眠の機能—適応行動としての睡眠

On the function of sleep

I．はじめに

　睡眠の機能に関してその解答を得るために，過去20年間多くの研究が試みられてきたにもかかわらず，いまだに不思議な謎として残っている。

　睡眠の機能への代表的なアプローチは，睡眠は覚醒中に消耗した生理過程の回復に役立っているという考え方に基づくものである^33,45），しかし，このアプローチも今日までのところ必らずしも成功しているとはいえない^20）。

Abstract

Although a great deal of research on sleep has been carried out during the past two decades, the biological function of sleep remains mysterious. A recent approach that might shed light on this question is to study sleep as an adaptation for energy conservation.J.A. Horne has proposed that for mammals, sleep is a state of enforced rest and energy conservation, in which body can recover from the wear and tear of wakefulness and that for man, with the evolution of the cortex, sleep may have become more directed towards the brain.