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First evidence of REM-like sleep and sleep rebound in jumping spiders
University of Bonn researchers documented multi-stage sleep in the fringed jumping spider (Portia fimbriata), including active REM-like bouts with retinal movements and twitching. Spiders showed ~80% increased REM-like sleep after disruption.
TLDR
This is the first comprehensive demonstration of regulated, multi-stage sleep with REM-like features in an invertebrate/arachnid, expanding sleep research beyond vertebrates. It raises evolutionary questions about sleep's origins and functions—memory consolidation, restoration, or other processes—and suggests sleep systems may be more ancient than previously thought.
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