Uploaded October 2017 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
Bees, sharks, anteaters, humans, we all share the need for sleep. Why we do it is of course still largely a mystery, but the fact of it remains incontrovertible. Now, new research on jellyfish is pushing the origin of sleep even further back down the evolutionary tree, before even the appearance of brains.
It's long been known that any creature with a central nervous system needs to sleep, but jellyfish are effectively brainless. They do have neurons arranged into a "nerve net" throughout their bodies, but they diverged from us before the appearance of a true brains. Nevertheless, researchers observed three important behavioral components of sleep in the jellyfish, indicating that they must indeed regularly enter a sleep-like state to survive. The finding highlights anew how crucial sleep is for our survival, and indicates that it could be a fundamental property of neurons themselves.
Read the full story here: discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/jellyfish-sleep-too
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Bees, sharks, anteaters, humans, we all share the need for sleep. Why we do it is of course still largely a mystery, but the fact of it remains incontrovertible. Now, new research on jellyfish is pushing the origin of sleep even further back down the evolutionary tree, before even the appearance of brains.
It's long been known that any creature with a central nervous system needs to sleep, but jellyfish are effectively brainless. They do have neurons arranged into a "nerve net" throughout their bodies, but they diverged from us before the appearance of a true brains. Nevertheless, researchers observed three important behavioral components of sleep in the jellyfish, indicating that they must indeed regularly enter a sleep-like state to survive. The finding highlights anew how crucial sleep is for our survival, and indicates that it could be a fundamental property of neurons themselves.
Read the full story here: discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/jellyfish-sleep-too
—
ABOUT DISCOVER:
Discover is your source for science that matters, makes sense and is a lot of fun, too.
Visit us at: discovermagazine.com
FOLLOW US:
Facebook: facebook.com/DiscoverMag
Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoverMag
Instagram: instagram.com/discover.magazine
SUPPORT US:
Subscribe to Discover: bit.ly/34seAFT
Sign up for our newsletter: discovermagazine.com/newsletter-signup
My Science Shop: myscienceshop.com
STAY CURIOUS!
