Currently, more and more scientific research shows that animals dream when they sleep. In addition, they are capable of experiencing complex dreams, just like humans, according to the site Science ABC.
Dreams are often vivid, rich, and detailed, creating entire worlds in our minds. This can include past events, and things that have not happened or are even physically impossible to happen.
Charles Darwin, the Father of Evolution, considered the mental powers of various species to be on a “continuum”, grouped by degree, not by kind.
Darwin directly commented on the dreams of animals in his work entitled The Descent of Man (1871).
“Just like dogs, cats, horses, and perhaps all higher animals, even birds have real dreams, and this can be seen from their movements and the sounds they utter, we must admit that they have the power of imagination,” he wrote.
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REM sleep
Illustration of sleeping fish (pixabay.com/aaron bull)
Previously, sleep was believed to be a passive activity where the brain simply ‘turned off’ and rested. Since REM sleep was discovered in the early 1950s and the different stages of sleep, we now know that the activity is much more complicated.
Similar to humans, many large animals have complex brains and neurons, which are cells that help information travel through the brain and nervous system by generating electrical signals. This electrical activity continues even while we sleep.
When studying sleep, researchers monitor changes in the brain’s electrical patterns. A machine called an EEG (electroencephalogram) can detect small electrical signals in the brain.
The body, especially muscles, will remain active during sleep. Physical movement patterns during sleep are recorded using EOG or eye movement sensing with Electromyography (EMG) which can measure specific activity in muscles.
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From these measurements, we know that sleep is divided into two parts, namely non-REM sleep and REM sleep. REM is an abbreviation for Rapid Eye Movement. The stages start with non-REM sleep, then reach REM and then return to non-REM.
During REM, the brain is very active, the eyes move quickly behind closed eyelids, and heart rate and breathing increase. This is also the phase where dreams are thought to occur.
From human sleep research, it was found that when people awaken from REM sleep, they tend to remember and describe dreams clearly and in detail.
Uncovering animal dreams
Illustration of a sleeping koala (unsplash.com/Cris Saur)
We cannot observe dream fauna, but we can predict the sights, sounds or activities that occur in the mind during sleep.
This relates to how their brain cells are active during “dreaming” and compares these patterns with the animal’s waking state.
From koalas that sleep 20 hours a day to dolphins that sleep while keeping half their brains awake, the animal world is incredibly diverse when it comes to sleep.
Research shows that almost all mammals (including primates such as apes and chimpanzees), birds, and even some reptiles experience REM and non-REM sleep states.
By studying the brain patterns of zebra finches, it was discovered that the birds sing songs in their dreams. Rats, like humans, reportedly have dreams about the future, where they might explore new places.
When an animal shows clear signs of REM sleep, we can say with some confidence that it is probably dreaming.
Humans are not the only species that experiences REM sleep. There is evidence that the brains of many animals follow the same patterns as human brains during deep sleep. Therefore, the ability to dream is concluded not only possessed by humans.
Also read: Dear children, penguins can sleep thousands of times a day
2023-12-15 01:05:00
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