Crocodiles can sleep with half their brain, keep one eye open —study
Crocodiles can sleep with only one half of their brain at a time, an ability called unihemispheric sleep and coveted by stressed individuals in school and in the workplace.
According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology and conducted by scientists from La Trobe University, the eye connected to the half of the brain that’s awake stays open and focused on possible threats in the crocodiles’ surroundings.
It seems strange to us, but this isn’t the first time that this method of sleeping has been observed in animals. Certain species of birds, aquatic mammals, and reptiles also have this ability.
In this study, the researchers explored “unilateral eye closure” (UEC) in juvenile saltwater crocodiles.
They found that the crocodiles experienced increased UEC when there were humans in their surroundings compared to when there were other juvenile crocodiles.
They also found that the “awake” eye would stay focused on the human or other crocodile.
“These findings are really exciting as they are the first of their kind involving crocodilians and may change the way we consider the evolution of sleep,” lead researcher Michael Kelly said on the university’s website.
“What we think of as ‘normal’ sleep may be more novel than we think," he added. -Bea Montenegro/NB, GMA News