Sleeplessness Seen in Some Infant Cetaceans
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Unlike all other mammals, bottlenose dolphins and killer whales do not sleep during their first month of life, UCLA researchers reported this week in the journal Nature.
Their constant movement reduces the danger from predators and helps maintain the newborn cetaceans’ body temperature until they develop greater mass and blubber, said Dr. Jerome Siegel. It also enables them to swim to the surface frequently to breathe and helps their body and brain to develop. The finding raises “the question of whether humans and other mammals have untapped physiological potential for coping without sleep,” Siegel said.
