ScienceScience DailyDo spiders dream? Scientists just found a surprising clue
Scientists studying an Australian jumping spider have found it experiences two distinct sleep stages, including one resembling REM sleep, suggesting sleep evolved across very different animals.
Scientists have discovered that spiders may sleep in ways surprisingly similar to humans, complete with distinct sleep stages and a dream-like REM state. Researchers at the University of Bonn studied the Australian jumping spider Portia fimbriata, a remarkably clever hunter known for its sophisticated strategies. By recording the spiders over several days and nights, they found clear evidence of regulated sleep, including a REM-like stage marked by eye movements and muscle twitches.
Researchers at the University of Bonn discovered that the Australian jumping spider Portia fimbriata experiences genuine, regulated sleep with two distinct stages.
One stage resembles REM sleep in humans, with the spiders displaying characteristic eye movements and muscle twitches during monitoring over several days and nights.
The researchers say the findings raise intriguing questions about how sleep evolved, though they stop short of claiming spiders actually dream.
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