Kasey Prince
Due: 3-10-2017
This article talks about how humans and animals all need sleep to survive. However, there is a fish called the Mexican Cavefish that requires very little sleep to live. Because of these types of fish, scientist have been able to observe these cavefish to see how they have evolved over time to become able to require such little sleep. By this study Scientists are hoping to be able to find similarities in humans to see if we could evolve just as these cavefish have over time.
Scientist believe that these cavefishs sleep habits have something to do with sleep and sensory processing. During one of these studies involving cavefish, scientists found that the inability to block out your environment is one of the ways to lose sleep. This study helped scientists understand a bit more on the brain's sensory systems and how the sensory systems regulate sleep. This helped the scientists discover the change of sleep duration throughout the animal kingdom. Every different type of animal has a difference in sleep cycles. Some animals require 20 hours and others only just 2 hours. “Our study suggests that differences in sensory systems may contribute
to this sleep variability. It is possible that evolution drives sensory
changes and changes in sleep are a secondary consequence, or that
evolution selects for changes in sensory processing in order to change
sleep.” (Alex C. Keene, Ph.D.) Scientists found that the biggest difference in cavefish and regular fish was the environment. Cavefish live in a harsh environment where it is difficult to hunt for food. This raises the possibility that differences in nutrient availability can be a part of sleep loss in the cavefish populations. This suggests that sleep loss is evolutionary and has to do with sensory and metabolic changes. "Key findings of the study have shown that the evolution of enhanced
sensory capabilities contribute to sleep loss in cavefish and that sleep
in cavefish is plastic and may be regulated by seasonal changes in food
availability. (Paragraph 6.)"
The reason I chose this specific article was because I was curious to know how fish sleep and how long they do so. I was able to see that it definitely varies, especially when it come to the environment where the fish comes from. I also find it fascinating that scientists are trying to discover how we can evolve to require less sleep. I like sleep, honestly. However, at least while I am in school, it would be pretty nice to not require as much sleep as my body begs me for. It will be interesting to see if we will one day be able to evolve to these kinds of sleeping habits.
(Sources: http://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/cavefish-sleep-study.php )
This topic spiked my interest when going through the list of topics because I was fascinated by how long different animals sleep and how we could learn from them. I am one who requires more than the average amount of sleep per night and if I could knock off just a couple of hours each night I would have a lot more time for activities. I think that this sleep evolution will definitely take a lot of years of studying and testing. However, if the human race as a whole could require less sleep per day then we would evolve for the better and become more productive as a species.
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When the scientists referred to the fishes sensory processing and the evolution that may have occurred, did they mention specifically what processes? Or what organs/chemicals might be involved in those processes? Also did they happen to mentions specifics on what genes may have evolved? Im interested, because like you, I am quite proficient at scheduling my work and school schedules so that I average 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I would be interested to know more about the specifics of their research in what chemicals or processes have changed, and how, so that I can experiment myself and follow their research. This was very interesting, thanks!! CNA
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