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Why Don't Humans Sleep Like Other Primates?

NPR
Published July 19, 2017 at 1:52 PM EDT
A sleeping chimp at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. (Photo courtesy of Lydia Hopper, Assistant Director, Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes)
A sleeping chimp at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. (Photo courtesy of Lydia Hopper, Assistant Director, Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes)

Humans sleep differently than other kinds primates, and that’s led researchers to wonder: Why did our branch of the family tree evolve to sleep the way we do? Is there some evolutionary advantage?

Max Green (@MaxRaphaelGreen) from The Pulse at Here & Now contributor WHYY explores the answers to those questions.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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