For all the living creatures on this earth, there is a life cycle that continues during each species’ life.

Although the specifics of life cycle vary from animals to plants to humans, but the pattern is the same.

For humans and most animals, there is hours of activities, usually during the daytime, followed by rest and sleep at night and getting ready for the next day.

This amazing phenomenon called “life” by us, and living on planet earth is mainly the result of two major elements that have made life on earth possible. The first one is the distance of the earth from the sun, and the second one is the position of earth’s axis.

It is a common knowledge that the earth axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees and the leading scientific 

theory is that a large planet called Theia, the size of Mars, has hit the earth when it was young and 

caused that tilt. 

As a result of this tilt, we have four seasons on earth and perfect conditions for different life forms to 

thrive on earth’s oceans as well as lands.

If there was no tilt in the earth’s axis. then the conditions on earth would be hugely different and so 

harsh that would not support different life forms. 

If the earth’s axis was completely vertical with no tilt, the equator would be permanently hot, while the 

poles would be permanently frozen and receive little to no sunlight leading to permanent and extreme 

temperature gradient across the planet. As a result of ice on the poles and reflecting the sunlight, the 

entire planet would gradually be covered by ice. 

Lack of seasons would disrupt traditional farming, and birds’ migration would not happen. All of these 

factors would have existential effects on all of the life forms on earth.

The similarity of life cycle in humans, animals and plants is incredible.

 

In all these forms of life, sleep is a necessity and integral part of their life. We know that animals sleep

 and the pattern of their sleep-in different species is variable. For example, bats could sleep for 19 to

20 hours mostly during the day, whereas giraffes typically sleep for a total of about 30 minutes to two 

hours a day. Some birds sleep while flying and bears spend anywhere from two to eight months in 

hibernation. 

Trees sleep at night by lowering their branches and leaves after the sunset and gradually return them to their upright position by sunrise.

In other words, all the life forms, except sponges, bacteria and fungi, have a period of time in their life 

cycle to sleep which they use to recover from damages to their organs and cells and rejuvenate their 

bodies.

This crucial time, in the form of sleep, allows all type of life forms live longer in spite of hazardous 

elements that they are exposed to in everyday life. By paying attention to our bodies and the 

environment surrounding us we realize that our bodies have been designed so amazingly perfect to 

face all types of damages it faces and be able to provide repairs more or less as soon as it gets a chance to sleep.

I mentioned earth’s distance from the sun and the tilt in its axis that set the stage on earth to  

support life by creation of four seasons and habitable temperatures, to emphasize that so 

many factors have been and are involved to support life on earth and an important part of all of these is inclusion of “sleep time” in the cycle of life.

Think of sleep as a period of time that the clock of aging stops or even turns back so that a rejuvenated body could live one more day.