Study: Elephant Seals Sleep Only Two Hours a Day
2023-04-30
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1Sleep is an important biological process for people and animals.
2However, much remains unknown about the process.
3Humans spend about one third of their lives sleeping.
4But some mammals, like the northern elephant seal, survive with much less sleep.
5Researchers in a new study described the unusual sleep pattern of these ocean animals.
6They found that when these mammals go to feed on trips that can last seven months, they sleep just two hours.
7Those two hours of sleep are made up of short moments of rest lasting only 10 minutes each as they dive deep to avoid predators.
8The only other mammals known to get so little sleep are African elephants.
9The seals' sleep time during ocean trips is different from the 10 hours a day they spend sleeping on the coast during mating season at places like California's Año Nuevo beach.
10The researchers placed a head covering with sensors on the heads of the seals that they studied.
11The sensors recorded sleep signals created by the seals' brains and heart rate.
12The sensors also recorded the animals' location and depth beneath the sea.
13The researchers studied female seals because they go out on long open-ocean trips while males feed in coastal waters.
14During dives lasting about 30 minutes, the seals went into a deep sleep called slow-wave sleep while keeping a controlled downward movement.
15When they then experienced rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a condition where voluntary movement while sleeping stops, the seals fell into a turning pattern.
16They sometimes ended up without movement on the seafloor.
17Jessie Kendall-Nar of the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography is the lead writer of the study published this week in Science.
18She said, "Then, at the deepest point of their sleeping dive - up to 377 meters deep - they wake up and swim back to the surface."
19The northern elephant seal is the world's second-largest seal.
20Only the southern elephant seal is bigger.
21Male northern elephant seals may reach four meters long and weigh up to 2,000 kilograms.
22Females reach about three meters in length and 590 kilograms.
23The seals eat sea animals like fish and squid.
24Even with their large size, predators like sharks and killer whales are still a threat.
25Terrie Williams is a scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz who helped write the study.
26She said, "It is remarkable that a wild animal will fall into deep, paralytic REM sleep when there are predators on the hunt."
27She added that the seals solve this problem by going into deep sleep in the deep parts of the oceans where predators usually do not hunt them.
28Williams said the brain's ability to control awakening the sleeping seals at a depth before they drown is also a discovery about how mammalian brains work.
29She commented on this saying that it shows the survival control of the seals' brains.
30I'm Gregory Stachel
1Sleep is an important biological process for people and animals. 2However, much remains unknown about the process. 3Humans spend about one third of their lives sleeping. But some mammals, like the northern elephant seal, survive with much less sleep. 4Researchers in a new study described the unusual sleep pattern of these ocean animals. They found that when these mammals go to feed on trips that can last seven months, they sleep just two hours. Those two hours of sleep are made up of short moments of rest lasting only 10 minutes each as they dive deep to avoid predators. The only other mammals known to get so little sleep are African elephants. 5The seals' sleep time during ocean trips is different from the 10 hours a day they spend sleeping on the coast during mating season at places like California's Año Nuevo beach. 6The researchers placed a head covering with sensors on the heads of the seals that they studied. The sensors recorded sleep signals created by the seals' brains and heart rate. The sensors also recorded the animals' location and depth beneath the sea. 7The researchers studied female seals because they go out on long open-ocean trips while males feed in coastal waters. 8During dives lasting about 30 minutes, the seals went into a deep sleep called slow-wave sleep while keeping a controlled downward movement. When they then experienced rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a condition where voluntary movement while sleeping stops, the seals fell into a turning pattern. They sometimes ended up without movement on the seafloor. 9Jessie Kendall-Nar of the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography is the lead writer of the study published this week in Science. She said, "Then, at the deepest point of their sleeping dive - up to 377 meters deep - they wake up and swim back to the surface." 10The northern elephant seal is the world's second-largest seal. Only the southern elephant seal is bigger. Male northern elephant seals may reach four meters long and weigh up to 2,000 kilograms. Females reach about three meters in length and 590 kilograms. 11The seals eat sea animals like fish and squid. Even with their large size, predators like sharks and killer whales are still a threat. 12Terrie Williams is a scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz who helped write the study. She said, "It is remarkable that a wild animal will fall into deep, paralytic REM sleep when there are predators on the hunt." She added that the seals solve this problem by going into deep sleep in the deep parts of the oceans where predators usually do not hunt them. 13Williams said the brain's ability to control awakening the sleeping seals at a depth before they drown is also a discovery about how mammalian brains work. She commented on this saying that it shows the survival control of the seals' brains. 14I'm Gregory Stachel 15Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 16_____________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18mammal - n. a type of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin 19pattern - n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done 20predator - n. an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals 21location - n. a place or position 22remarkable - adj. unusual or surprising 23paralytic -adj. in a condition of being unable to move arms or legs 24___________________________________________________________________ 25What do you think of this story? 26We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.