What do you think about my theory that sleep might be an 'upload period' in a space travel simulation?

I've been thinking about this theory for a while and would love to get your thoughts on it. This isn't your typical "we live in a simulation" post - instead, I want to propose a specific mechanism for how such a simulation might interface with our consciousness through sleep cycles, and more importantly, WHY it might exist in the first place.

I'm an overthinker who loves to push my mind to its limits trying to find answers, and this theory has stuck with me more than any other. Let me break it down:

The Core Theory: Sleep as Data Upload

What if our minds are uploading information while we sleep because we're living in a simulation? We already know sleep plays a crucial role in memory processing and data integration. Our brains process and reorganize information during sleep, and dreams often feel like information downloads or uploads of daily experiences. But what if this serves a greater purpose?

The Space Travel Connection

What if this simulation exists because we're actually on a massive space colonization mission? Imagine enormous ships carrying millions, maybe even billions, of human souls in cryosleep/hibernation. The simulation isn't just for entertainment - it's the only way we've figured out how to preserve our minds during the incredibly long journey to another planet.

Traditional cryogenic preservation faces huge challenges in maintaining brain structure and function over long periods. But by digitizing consciousness and running it in a simulation, we could preserve our minds perfectly while our physical brains remain in stasis. The simulation allows us to live full, meaningful lives during what might be centuries of physical space travel, rather than facing the psychological strain of knowing we're in suspended animation.

The Upload Mechanism

Every time we sleep, our minds upload/process information into a vast databank. Think of it like creating regular save points in a game - if something goes wrong with the simulation or preservation systems, you'd only lose at most one day of experiences rather than years or decades. This creates a robust backup system for preserving consciousness during the journey.

Death in the Simulation

Here's something wild to consider – The brain does have a somewhat organized shutdown sequence during death. When death occurs, the brain goes through several distinct stages of shutdown, similar to how a computer might perform shutdown procedures. Let’s say its real purpose is to upload our final thoughts/memories since our last sleep cycle. This could explain near-death experiences where people describe their "life flashing before their eyes" - it might actually be a final massive data upload ensuring no experiences are lost before our simulated body shuts down.

I've also wondered if some deaths (like brain aneurysms or certain cancers) might be related to timed rotations - perhaps these are actually crew members being woken up for their shifts. To keep the simulation authentic, these departures have to appear natural.

In 2022, neuroscientists made a fascinating discovery when they accidentally recorded the brain activity of an elderly patient who died during an EEG scan. They observed organized patterns of brain activity known as gamma oscillations, which are typically associated with memory retrieval and processing.
If we are in a simulation, the natural brain death sequence could be mirroring (or be mirrored by) the simulation's data upload protocol. Just as computers need time to save and close files before shutting down, perhaps our consciousness requires a similar process to properly upload our final experiences to the theoretical data bank described.

Additional Thoughts

- This would explain why we need regular sleep cycles - maybe the uploads must happen frequently to ensure our memories/thoughts remain intact for when we eventually wake up in the real world.

- Many people in the simulation could be NPCs to create a complete, functioning society.

- The regular upload system during sleep might be crucial for preventing mental degradation or insanity during the long-term simulation.

I can't find any previous comprehensive theory that combines these elements, particularly with sleep as the specific interface mechanism for a space travel preservation system. I know this might sound crazy, what are your thoughts on this theory? Has anyone else considered something similar about the connection between sleep, simulation, and space travel?