Spiders sleep just like humans.
Spiders sleep like humans
A new study has revealed that the insects twitch when they are snoozing and may even dream in a similar way to people.
Experts in Germany filmed over 30 baby jumping spiders and found that the creatures displayed "periodic bouts of retinal movements" combined with "limb twitching and leg curling".
This behaviour is similar to REM sleep in humans, when the eyes move rapidly from side to side behind closed eyelids when a person experiences a vivid dream.
Study leader Daniela Roessler, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Konstanz, said of the findings: "Here, we report evidence for an REM sleep-like state in a terrestrial invertebrate - periodic bouts of retinal movements coupled with limb twitching and stereotyped leg curling behaviours during nocturnal resting in a jumping spider.
"This report provides direct evidence for an REM-sleep-like state in a terrestrial invertebrate - an arthropod - with clear parallels to REM sleep in terrestrial vertebrates."