How can they fly non-stop for thousands of miles? Do they stop and take breaks?
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“Yet the most incredible feat of deliberate sleep deprivation belongs to that of birds during transoceanic migration. During this climate-driven race across thousands of miles, entire flocks will fly for many more hours than is normal. As a result, they lose much of the stationary opportunity for plentiful sleep. But even here, the brain has found an ingenious way to obtain sleep. In-flight, migrating birds will grab remarkably brief periods of sleep lasting only seconds in duration. These ultra-power naps are just sufficient to avert the ruinous brain and body deficits that would otherwise ensue from prolonged total sleep deprivation.”
Source: Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker, PhD. Pg 66.
Dolphins and whales do have the ability to have 1 half of the brain get Non-REM sleep while the other half is totally awake, and switch once the one half gets enough sleep. And birds can do this as well!
“Things get even more interesting when birds group together…The flock will first line up in a row. With the exception of the birds at each end of the line, the rest of the group will allow both halves of the brain to indulge in sleep. Those at the far left and right ends of the row aren’t so lucky. They will enter deep sleep with just one half of the brain (opposing in each), leaving the corresponding left and right eye of each bird wide open. In doing so, they provide full panoramic threat detection for the entire group, maximizing the total number of brain halves that can sleep within the flock. At some point, the two end-guards will stand up, rotate 180 degrees, and sit back down, allowing the other side of their respective brains to enter deep sleep.”
Same book, pg 64.
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