Humans Evolved to Get Better Sleep in Less Time

It turns out that humans may have actually evolved to get less sleep. Scientists have taken a closer look at animals and humans and have found that our sleep is more efficient.

In the latest study, the researchers compiled a database of slumber patterns across hundreds of mammals, including 21 species of primates-from baboons to lemurs to orangutans, chimpanzees and people. Then, the researchers used statistical techniques to account for each species' position in the primate family tree.

The researchers found that humans are exceptionally short sleepers-getting by on an average of seven hours of sleep per night. Other primate species, such as southern pig-tailed macaques and grey mouse lemurs, need as many as 14 to 17 hours.

"Humans are unique in having shorter, higher quality sleep," said David Samson, one of the co-authors of the new study, in a news release.

The human sleep gap isn't merely the result of round-the clock access to artificial light from streetlamps and computer screens. A separate study of sleep habits of people living in three hunter-gatherer societies without electricity show that these people get slightly less shut-eye than those with electronic gadgets.

The researchers attribute a shift toward shorter, more efficient sleep in part to the transition from sleeping in "beds" to the trees to sleeping on the ground. Once on the ground, early humans started sleeping near fire and in larger groups in order to ward off predators such as leopards and hyenas. These habits may have enabled our ancestors to get the most out of their sleep in the shortest time possible.

The findings are published in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News and Reviews.

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