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I'm a very lazy person. I spend most of my time in a chair, at a computer; I eat more than three meals a day. I don't do any sport, at all.

What I want to know is: why do I need to sleep 8-12 hours daily since I don't waste myself physically during the day?!

Wouldn't 3-5 hours be more reasonable? With an increase to 7-10 if I were a bodybuilder or a construction worker.. something that would actually deplete my body of energy?

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  • $\begingroup$ Physical inactivity doesn't necessarily mean mental inactivity. Heavy mental exercise may also cause a need to sleep. $\endgroup$ – AliceD♦ Jan 7 '15 at 3:50
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    $\begingroup$ @ChrisStronks yes but why? Why does heavy mental and heavy physical labor produce equivalent global fatigue when they are fundamentally so very different, down to the actual organs under load? $\endgroup$ – tel Jan 7 '15 at 12:29
  • $\begingroup$ @tel you seem to assume that 1) physical movement uses up lots of energy, and 2) sleep is there for muscle regeneration. Both assumptions are not very true. Your body heat production, viscera function and brain function use up by far more energy, and it is not known what sleep is for, but it's more likely to be about brain self-organisation without the meddiling of a wanton, energetically expensive consciousness, than for muscle relaxation. $\endgroup$ – rumtscho Jan 7 '15 at 19:41
  • $\begingroup$ @rumtscho Really, just like the OP I'm wondering why both a day of hard labor and a day of hard thinking leave me similarly tired. It's a curious symmetry. $\endgroup$ – tel Jan 7 '15 at 22:50
  • $\begingroup$ Sleep helps organize what is learned during the day. It usually takes me two separate sleeps - two nights, or a nap and a night - for me to use material I have learned. I take a lot of naps because I do mental work, and it helps me learn faster. I also make faster progress in daily living learning than most people. Sleep early and often! It is productive! $\endgroup$ – user17124 Oct 23 '15 at 21:57

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