There is a lot that is known about sleep. We don't know everything and there are large gaps in our knowledge, but there is also a lot that we do know. And this research explicitly tried to emulate the things we know that sleep does do. Calling it "sleep" is warranted, imho.

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rendx 2 hours ago | parent [-]

"Despite myriad studies, there is still no consensus on why sleep is needed for survival."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00964-w (2025)

	▲	Earw0rm 26 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Probably because it evolved very early (like before bilateral symmetry, multi layer body cavity, or kidneys early... maybe even before multicellular animals early) and so has been incorporated as an essential pillar into multiple processes layered on top of that fundamental architecture.