AFP – In humans, nodding off for a few seconds is a clear sign of insufficient sleep – and can be dangerous in some situations, such as when driving a car.
But a new study published finds chinstrap penguins snooze thousands of times per day, accumulating their daily sleep requirement of more than 11 hours in short bursts averaging just four seconds.
The flightless birds might have evolved this trait because of their need to remain constantly vigilant, according to the authors of the paper in Science.
The researchers argued that the findings show, contrary to prior assumptions, the benefits of sleep can accrue incrementally, at least in some species.
Chinstrap penguins (pygoscelis antarcticus), named for the thin black band of plumage that extends from ear to ear, may be the most abundant species of penguin. Their current population is estimated at nearly eight million breeding pairs that are found mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Atlantic Ocean islands.
When nesting, single parent penguins have to keep watch over their eggs, guarding them from predatory birds called skuas while their partners are away on foraging trips that last several days.
