Antonio Zadra

“there must be an absolutely unavoidable requirement for sleep. It can’t be a function that simply requires lying down, closing the eyes, or being relaxed. Humans can do all these things without being asleep. Instead, these critical functions must require us to be cut off from the outside world, unaware of what is happening around us, and truly asleep. Offline memory processing precisely fits the bill. Our brains are not like DVRs, which can record an ongoing TV show while playing back an older recording to the screen. We cannot simultaneously pay attention to new sensory information and replay or analyze previously stored memories. It has to be one or the other.”
― Antonio Zadra, When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of Our Dreaming Minds

“Dolphins and whales evolved the ability to have only half of their brain sleep at a time, switching from one side of the brain to the other every hour or so.”
― Antonio Zadra, When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of Our Dreaming Minds