Footage taken of baby jumping spiders showed patterns that looked a lot like sleep cycles: The spiders’ legs twitched and parts of their eyes flickered.
A study published on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, suggests that jumping spiders show signs of sleep cycles, similar to humans and some animals. NEW YORK — It’s a question that keeps some scientists awake at night: Do spiders sleep?
The researchers described this pattern as a “REM sleep-like state.” In humans, REM, or rapid eye movement, is an active phase of sleep when parts of the brain light up with activity and is closely linked with dreaming.Other animals, including some birds and mammals, have been shown to experience REM sleep.
Many species similar to spiders actually don’t have movable eyes, which makes it hard to compare their sleep cycles, explained study co-author Paul Shamble, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University.But these jumping spiders are predators that move their retinas around to change their gaze while they hunt, Shamble said. Plus, the young spiders have a see-through outer layer that gives a clear window into their bodies.
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