By taking 10,000 four-second naps a day, chinstrap penguins can earn more than 11 hours of sleep.
Unlike humans, who can safely sleep about 7 to 9 hours a day, for animals such as penguins who live in harsh natural environments, even a few hours of sleep can be fatal. A research team led by Paul-Antoine Libourel of the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center found that
Nesting chinstrap penguins accrue large quantities of sleep through seconds-long microsleeps | Science
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh0771
Penguins snatch 11 hours of sleep through seconds-long micronaps
Chinstrap Penguins' Bizarre Sleep Routine Upends Our Understanding Of Rest
https://www.inverse.com/science/chinstrap-penguins-bizarre-sleep-routine-upends-understanding-of-rest
While one penguin mother incubates eggs at her feet, the other penguin partner spends several days gathering food. During this time, they must protect their eggs and nests from skuas and other penguins. Therefore, it is said that penguins, which cannot stay alert at all times, have difficulty sleeping for long periods of time like normal animals.
In December 2019, Libourel and his team implanted electrodes in 14 chinstrap penguins on King George Island and recorded electrical activity in their brain and neck muscles, while also using accelerometers and GPS. to study the penguin's body movements and position.
The research team took videos and directly observed the penguins over several days. As a result, penguins sleep for an average of 3.91 seconds more than 10,000 times a day while standing or lying down to incubate their eggs, for a total of more than 11 hours of sleep. It turns out that.
Below is the brain activity of nesting penguins reported by the research team. The upper row shows how long the penguin's eyes are open and the degree of eye opening, the middle row shows the degree of sleep in the left hemisphere, and the lower row shows the degree of sleep in the right hemisphere. If the upper graph is depressed and the red or green lines are active, the penguin is sleeping.
Furthermore, the research team analyzed brain activity and found that penguins also engage in ``
Although the research team has not measured the recovery effects of sleep in penguins that sleep for a few seconds more than 10,000 times a day, ``The fact that ``penguins are successful in breeding'' is due to this sleeping method. 'This shows that it is having a recovery effect.'
On the other hand, in humans, such repeated short sleep periods are seen in conditions such as sleep apnea syndrome . It is important to be aware that repeated short sleep periods can have a negative impact on cognitive function and lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
Christian Harding of the University of California, San Diego and Vladislav Vyazovsky of the University of Oxford say, ``If it can be proven that this type of sleep has no negative effects on penguins, it is possible that repeated short periods of sleep may affect sleep quality.'' 'This may challenge the modern interpretation that 'negative effects occur.' What is abnormal for humans may be normal behavior for birds and other animals.'
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