Why does the hard drive keep spinning up when in sleep mode?

When my iMac 27" is in sleep mode I have noticed that the hard drive spins up very regularly every 4 or 5 minutes. Also when placed in sleep, the monitor takes about 30 seconds to go black. It also wakes on its own for no apparent reason. No new software has been added, only normal updates, running Lion. Time machine backup is done every couple weeks.

Power or other problems related to unexpected system sleep, shutdown, lights or fans call for an SMC reset. Read all the steps.
Before Resetting the SMC
Try each of the following steps in this order before you reset the SMC. Test the issue after completing each troubleshooting step to determine if the issue still occurs.
Press Command + Option + Escape to force quit any application that is not responding.
Put your Mac to sleep by choosing the Apple () menu from the upper-left menu bar and then choosing Sleep. Wake the computer after it has gone to sleep.
Restart your Mac by choosing the Apple () menu from the upper-left menu bar and then choosing Restart.
Shut down your Mac by choosing the Apple () menu from the upper-left menu bar and then choosing Shut Down.
Resetting the SMC for Mac Pro, Intel-based iMac, Intel-based Mac mini, or Intel-based Xserve
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
If the problems persist after performing the above read the following.
Open the Terminal app - it is in your Mac's Utilities folder and looks like this
Select the entire line that follows (triple-click to select it), select Edit > Copy, and then Paste it into the Terminal window:
clear; printf '\e[3J' && echo "**** Sleep/Wake events"; egrep -i 'eep\ cau|ake\ rea' /private/var/log/system.log; echo "**** Assertions"; pmset -g assertions
Copy the text of that entire window by selecting Edit > Select All, then Edit > Copy. Paste the text in a reply to this Discussion.

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