Eyes that are heavy, eyelids that close. The signs are not deceiving, it is indeed the desire to take a nap that is showing. But at work or behind the wheel, it’s not always possible to doze off. Some penguins do not have this problem and allow themselves to take more than 10,000 naps every day.
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This is what a recent French study shows published in the magazine Science. Chinstrap penguins can take more than 10,000 naps per day, or rather 10,000 micro-naps, since on average they only last 4 seconds.
But added up, that makes them more than a full night. These penguins, which live mainly in Antarctica and the islands of the southern Atlantic Ocean, accumulate 11 hours of daily sleep. Almost half the day.
This fragmentation of sleep allows this species to remain constantly vigilant. Especially during the brooding period when she must protect her eggs from predatory birds. Standing or lying down, no preference for taking a nap.
This pace of life is impossible for man. Not only would it not allow him to rest, but he is even dangerous. Too much interrupted sleep has consequences on cognitive functions and could cause diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
For the penguins, no problem. Today, the population is estimated at nearly 8 million breeding pairs.