None of this is medical advice.

5 AM on a Saturday and I can’t go back to sleep. It's not the first time, so I get up to write, I might as well use the time I’m given. My hangover is to blame, even a little alcohol the night before changes my sleep cycle.

You’d think it would ruin my day, but in some ways I feel better. I’m more alert, more anxious, more motivated. It's like being more alive. Being more awake for only one day has me asking questions. Why did sleep evolve? Can we sleep less?

Why did sleep evolve?

Sleep evolved for temporal niches

Imagine you’re a Zebra. You need to eat a lot of grass to maintain your metabolism. To do so, you need to look around to find the best grasses. You also need to be able to [...]

---

Outline:

(00:46) Why did sleep evolve?

(00:49) Sleep evolved for temporal niches

(03:54) Other evolutionary theories of sleep don't work

(07:51) Safe sleep need reduction is feasible

(09:38) Small molecule Orexin agonists

(12:31) Why has nobody done this before?

(13:58) Other benefits of sleep need reduction

(14:02) Curing other ailments

(15:08) Broader effects

(16:37) How this research could fail

(18:42) Conclusion

(19:38) Appendix

(19:41) Objections to sleep-need reduction.

(21:48) Other avenues for sleep reduction

(23:36) Other Treatments

(25:18) Why small molecule drugs are more promising

(27:33) Other links, companies, and related efforts

(27:39) Related efforts

(28:18) Companies working on Narcolepsy

(28:41) Papers

(31:15) Other links

(32:08) Pop-sci articles

The original text contained 8 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

---

First published:
May 21st, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Nmp6FWAj3mcuLu6H6/sleep-need-reduction-therapies-1

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

Male lion sleeping peacefully in grass with magnificent mane.

A young pilot in uniform speaking with an older man.

Tiny pale green sea creature on orange coral or seaweed.

Rainbow-colored protein structure showing alpha helix and side chains.

Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

“Sleep need reduction therapies” by harsimony

LessWrong (30+ Karma)