# How do dolphins sleep?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 30, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784 "2001-06-30T23:33:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![angilion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@angilion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angilion)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/1 "2001-06-30T23:33:56Z")

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One of my many odd conversations at work wandered on to the topic of animals which sleep standing up. This caused me to wonder how dolphins and whales sleep, since they need to surface for air. Do they sleep on the surface? Can they stay submerged long enough to sleep? Do they sleep at all?

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/2 "2001-06-30T23:42:11Z")

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I remember a boat running into a sleeping whale. No citation, but I read that he was pissed.  
🙂

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**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/3 "2001-06-30T23:50:56Z")

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Google is an amazing thing: [http://members.eisa.net.au/~dolphins/dolphinfaq.html#How](http://members.eisa.net.au/~dolphins/dolphinfaq.html#How) do dolphins sleep?

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**Author:** ![AETBOND417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@AETBOND417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AETBOND417)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/4 "2001-07-01T00:16:59Z")

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From Dr. Lao’s link:

> [@](#):
>
> Dolphins are said to spend about one-third of their day sleeping/resting, one-third eating and one-third playing or making love.

Greatest… life… ever.

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/5 "2001-07-01T00:40:54Z")

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Yeah but they don’t dream. What’s sleep without dream? Their sleeping isn’t like ours.

Believe me. The sixteen hours we don’t spend eating/making love/playing and instead use to work is worth it all for that REM sleep.

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**Author:** ![saepiroth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@saepiroth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saepiroth)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/6 "2001-07-01T04:02:52Z")

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i don’t dream at all, for some reason.

so screw the REM, i want 16 hours of lovin’, playin’, and eatin’!

[sub]and various other things that end in “in’”[/sub]

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**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-dolphins-sleep/70784/7 "2001-07-01T04:46:43Z")

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[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/990702.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/990702.html)