The function of sleep is yet to be fully understood but new research has shown that for fire ants, lack of rest for the workers seems to ensure that queens get to live a long and comfortable life.
Queen fire ants get more than 9 hours sleep each day and it appears that they dream during REM sleep. On the other hand, worker ants get only 4 hours 48 minutes of sleep each day ensuring that 80% of the workforce is awake and active at any one time.
It appears that as a result of their comfortable lifestyles, queen fire ants can live for several years where hardworking sleep deprived worker ants are live only for a few months.
There is a lot we can learn from the insect world, don’t you think?
Check out the full article (written by the BBC about a study in the United States) at http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8100000/8100876.stm
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