Do spiders dream of… eight-legged sheep?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science… saying…
Wait! Spiders… dream?
Well, to do that, they’d have to experience REM sleep. That’s a deep sleep state characterized by rapid eye movements. That’s when most of our HUMAN dreams occur!
Now, enter Daniela Robler and team from Washington University in St. Louis.
They filmed jumping spiders while they slept, watching for leg and eye movements.
And? Spiders twitched and curled their legs, typical of a REM-like sleep state. Their sleep patterns were similar to those in rats and mice!
Now we know… invertebrates like our eight-legged friends can also have deep REM sleep! This study reveals new behavioral similarities across different species.
Huh. Whaddya suppose their nightmares are about? A giant clown shoe?!
Reference: Rößler, D. C., Kim, K., De Agrò, M., Jordan, A., Galizia, C. G., & Shamble, P. S. (2022). Regularly occurring bouts of retinal movements suggest an REM sleep–like state in jumping spiders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(33), e2204754119.