Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Fish forgo sleep thanks to a molecule in the brain

Chemical helps blind cavefish to survive on catnaps.
Comparison of Astyanax mexicanus surface fish and Pachón cavefish

Mexican cavefish (right) lack eyes and sleep little, whereas their relatives (left) that live on the surface have eyes and sleep a lot. Credit: J. B. Jaggard et al./eLife/CC BY 4.0

Even the most sleep-deprived human has nothing on a Mexican cavefish. These blind creatures have long been scientific curiosities because of their habit of sleeping just 1.5 hours a day on average — about four times less than related, sighted populations of the species (Astyanax mexicanus) that live at the surface.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 554, 406-407 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-01814-8

References

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links