Friday, November 4, 2016

Common swift stays airborne for 10 months straight!

I know this article about birds isn't relative to human sleep (at least directly). I thought it was fascinating because as a sleep doctor, my first question was when do these birds sleep, if they can stay in the air for 10 months. All animals have to sleep, so they much be getting some sleep. Turns out they climb really high and then coast down for 30 minutes at least twice a day, presumably to take power naps. Scientists don't know for sure if the birds are actually sleeping, but this is their best guess, and it makes sense to me. Maybe the ornithologists need to do a portable sleep study on these birds!