Australian marsupial Antechinus mates almost non-stop for weeks. Male antechinus sacrifice half of their sleep to give themselves more time to mate with the females.
Females, for their part, do not give up sleep to a similar extent, but the scientists measured reduced levels of sleep-related hormones in their bodies. Men who sacrifice the most hours of sleep were not the first to die, other species, such as rats, survive longer sleep loss. The sexual desire inherent in us in order to reproduce may cause us to give up another drive - the drive for self-preservation - and literally sacrifice our lives.