Science, Tech, Math › Animals & Nature How Do Marine Animals Sleep? Learn About Sleep in Marine Animals Such As Sharks, Whales and Walruses Print Animals & Nature Marine Life Marine Life Profiles Marine Habitat Profiles Sharks Key Terms Amphibians Birds Habitat Profiles Mammals Reptiles Insects Forestry Dinosaurs Evolution View More By Jennifer Kennedy Jennifer Kennedy Marine Science Expert M.S., Resource Administration and Management, University of New Hampshire B.S., Natural Resources, Cornell University Jennifer Kennedy, M.S., is an environmental educator specializing in marine life. She serves as the executive director of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on February 07, 2019 Sleeping in the ocean is definitely different than sleeping on land. As we learn more about sleep in marine life, we're learning that marine animals don't have the same requirements for long periods of undisturbed sleep that we do. Here you can learn more about how different types of marine animals sleep. How Whales Sleep Michael Nolan/Robert Harding World Imagery/Getty Images Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are voluntary breathers, meaning they think about every breath they take. A whale breathes through the blowholes on top of its head, so it needs to come up to the water surface to breathe. But that means the whale needs to be awake to breathe. How's a whale going to get any rest? The answer may surprise you. Research on captive animals shows that cetaceans rest one half of their brain at a time, while the other half stays awake and makes sure the animal breathes. Read More Do Whales Sleep? By Jennifer Kennedy Walruses - Unusual Sleepers Mike Korostelev www.mkorostelev.com / Getty Images If you thought you were sleep deprived, check out the sleep habits of a walrus. An interesting study reported that walruses are "the world's most unusual snoozers." The study of captive walruses showed that walruses sleep in water, sometimes "hanging out" by literally hanging from their tusks, which are planted on ice floes. How Sharks Sleep Sharks use their spiracles to draw in oxygenated water. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Kennedy, Jennifer. "How Do Marine Animals Sleep?" ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/how-do-marine-animals-sleep-2291914. Kennedy, Jennifer. (2021, February 16). How Do Marine Animals Sleep? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-do-marine-animals-sleep-2291914 Kennedy, Jennifer. "How Do Marine Animals Sleep?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-do-marine-animals-sleep-2291914 (accessed April 27, 2024). copy citation