Well the body doesn't completely shut down or at least mine doesn't seem to, especially not my brain. I sleep walk sometimes, wake up and have to go to the bathroom even though I went right before bed, talk in my sleep, and often wake up doing the things I was dreaming about like punching the air in front of me after dreaming I was in a fight. If I don't get enough sleep beware of the griping zombie I become lol. Sleep to me is time where I don't have to deal with some of the things life throws at me at least not yet, and a time for my brain to file memories and storing what I need and throwing out what don't. I really enjoy sleeping considering that I didn't use to get more than an hour or two when I was in school.
This makes me laugh. Well, once upon time, I used to stay up all night stomping around my apartment, cleaning the kitchen cabinets, going through the fridge, writing letters, scrubbing the bathroom floor with an old toothbrush, beading up 6 necklaces at a time, rolling change, refolding clothes, sorting anything i could find to sort, vacuuming out my car bright eyed and bushy tailed at the ass crack of dawn like that kind of thing was normal for me, and I remember thinking...Why would anyone waste their time sleeping when theres all this stuff to do??? Well, I was on a lotta drugs back then! I have definitely come to appreciate resting my body now that I know that shit was only making me CRAZY!! ...so, yeah, I've had those thoughts!
Sleeping is such a weird function but it feels good.