Science and Society | Sleep and Human Evolution

• Tuesday, May 12 @ 5:00 pm
• Lewes Public Library, Lewes, DE

Sleep plays a critical role in maintaining health and cognitive function, yet humans sleep less than any other primate. In his new book, The Sleepless Ape, David Samson explains how this apparent paradox evolved, and why sleep is a critical but often overlooked aspect of human evolution. When our ancestors left the safety of the forest for more dangerous ground, they formed more secure social sleeping arrangements, which resulted in shorter, deeper, and more flexible sleep patterns. Those changes, he argues, not only provided survival advantages but also freed more time for crucial activities such as toolmaking and social interaction. Associated changes in the human brain also led to more restorative sleep, which in turn enabled advanced memory consolidation and fostered creativity—keys to our success as a species. A deeper understanding of our evolutionary sleep heritage, Samson writes, can help us address sleep disorders and improve our overall health and well-being.

David R. Samson is associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Toronto and the author of Our Tribal Future: How to Channel Our Foundational Human Instincts into a Force for Good. His pioneering research has been featured in National Geographic, Time, and New York Times and on NPR and the BBC.

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