You know, this is a good question.
Googling it would ruin the fun, but I'd assume that it's an evolutionary thing so you don't decide to go to sleep in an unsafe situation and get yourself eaten.
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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Asklemmy
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After a quick google myself, it looks like this is basically it. There wasn’t a whole lot of info but from what I could find our body needs a way to make sure we don’t do something stupid like sleep while standing up or in danger. This means it’s up to our body to let us sleep rather than letting our consciousness decide.
I bet you’re right. It also probably has to do with shutting down/pausing brain function to enter our “sleep mode”. Though I have no clue what I’m talking about so take it with a grain of salt
Falling is dangerous. I prefer to drift off.
Or dance to sleep
A related question might be, are there people who can deliberately make themselves sleep? For example, those that can close their eyes and just sleep in seconds. Are they falling asleep, but just faster than most, or do they decide to sleep?
So sleep is a complex process influenced by many factors, including genetics, environment, and our body's natural processes. While we can't just decide to be asleep, we can take steps to create a sleep-friendly environment and develop healthy sleep habits to help us fall asleep easier.
So, here's my thought:
Maybe the reason has to do with how we wake up. Our bodies must hit a certain state in order to sleep, and in order to exit sleep. If sleeping were a voluntary action, we'd either need to remain partially conscious, or else we'd go to sleep forever. If our bodies and minds have hardcoded conditions for sleep, however, this will never be a problem under normal circumstances.