From: here@is.invalid   
      
   Elephant Seals Take Power Naps During Deep Ocean Dives   
      
   During the many months they spend at sea gorging on fish and squid,   
   the massive mammals sleep only about two hours a day.   
      
   It long seemed as though African elephants were the champions of the   
   all-nighter. They can get by on about two hours of sleep. Other   
   mammals need much more, like koalas (20 hours) or you (at least seven   
   plus at least one strong cup of coffee).   
      
   But the largest living mammals on land have some competition at sea.   
   Northern elephant seals are also able to sustain themselves on about   
   two hours' sleep, according to a study published Thursday in the   
   journal Science. The study found that Northern elephant seals sleep   
   far less at sea than they do on land, and the z's they do catch at sea   
   are caught hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface. The study's   
   authors believe that sleeping in the deep allows the seals to   
   power-nap without being eaten by prowling predators.   
   ...   
   ...   
   "They dive down, stop swimming and begin to glide," Dr. Kendall-Bar   
   said.   
      
   As they go deeper, their brain activity starts to slow.   
      
   "Then they transition to REM sleep, where they flip upside down and   
   spin in a circle, falling like a leaf," she said.   
      
   While in rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep, which is the deepest stage   
   of sleep, the seals stayed upside down, oblivious to their slow   
   descent.   
      
   After sleeping for around 10 minutes, the seals would suddenly wake up   
   and make their way back to the surface. During these sleep dives, some   
   seals sank over 1,000 feet, sometimes finding themselves on the   
   seafloor.   
      
   https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/science/elephant-seals-sleep-   
   ive.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)