Sleep may serve as more than rest for the mind; it may also function as essential upkeep for the body’s energy systems. A new study from University of Oxford researchers, published in Nature, shows that the drive to sleep is caused by electrical stress building up in the tiny energy-producing structures of brain cells.
In certain sleep-regulating neurons studied in fruit flies, mitochondria that become overloaded begin leaking electrons. This leakage produces harmful byproducts called reactive oxygen species. The leak functions as a signal that forces the brain into sleep, allowing balance to be restored before cellular damage spreads further.
Despite decades of research, no one had identified a clear physical trigger. The findings show that the answer may lie in the very process that fuels our bodies: aerobic metabolism. In certain sleep-regulating neurons, mitochondria – the cell’s energy producers – leak electrons when there is an oversupply. When the leak becomes too large, these cells act like circuit breakers, tripping the system into sleep to prevent overload.”
The findings help explain well-known links between metabolism, sleep, and lifespan. Smaller animals, which consume more oxygen per gram of body weight, tend to sleep more and live shorter lives. Humans with mitochondrial diseases often experience debilitating fatigue even without exertion, now potentially explained by the same mechanism.
“This research answers one of biology’s big mysteries,” “Why do we need sleep? The answer appears to be written into the very way our cells convert oxygen into energy.”
Reference
Mitochondrial origins of the pressure to sleep” by Raffaele Sarnataro, Cecilia D. Velasco, Nicholas Monaco, Anissa Kempf and Gero Miesenböck, 16 July 2025, Nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09261-y
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