Animals also need to save time and energy in the midst of their daily activities, of which the Eurasian tundra reindeer is arguably the leader. and about Science News As mentioned, scientists have observed that horned cattle tend to enter a sleep-like state while chewing or regurgitating their food. They tried to find out in recent research.
Two scientists from the University of Zurich, neuroscientist Melanie Forer and chronobiologist Sarah Mayer, together with their colleagues, trained four female tundra reindeer to be able to hold the electrodes attached to them while conducting the experiment. So in return, they collected lichens that the animals liked to eat.
They studied the brain waves that occur during deep restorative sleep that does not involve REM sleep. These signals appeared while the animals were chewing, but the chewing itself makes it difficult to detect the exact signal pattern, which is why scientists have been unable to obtain beyond doubt proof.
We can't go into detail relying solely on brain waves, as chewing somewhat interferes with that
Science News quotes Fourier. he added:
They were clearly relaxed, reminiscent of the body position during non-REM sleep.
Reindeer will need restful sleep if they are awake a lot, but scientists have noted that the more time a deer spends chewing, the less sleep they need. Moreover, the ruminant reindeer were calmer, and did not even react to the movements of their companions.
It can also be beneficial to humans
Niels Rattenborg, a neurobiologist at the Max Planck Institute, believes that the evidence obtained during the research is “sufficiently convincing that reindeer are able to sleep even while ruminating.” Compared to other animals, reindeer do all this while both hemispheres of the brain show signs of sleep.
Researchers don't yet know how animals can do this, but according to Rattenborg, if they start investigating different types of sleep, they may eventually find solutions to sleep disorders in humans, which scientists don't yet fully understand.
Neuroscientist Gabe Wagner believes this is the first time scientific evidence has been found for what indigenous peoples who herd reindeer have been saying for years, that deer need the “peace of the pasture” to eat, digest and regurgitate in silence.
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