[Animals] Lack of sleep and overeating: the effects of stress in wild animals

[#Steeven.™]

Specialists in the subject detailed what are the effects and the causes for which some species experience this feeling

Butterflies suffer the effects of insomnia just like flies and bees (Infobae File)
Wild animals experience stress physically and mentally, these effects can be long-lasting depending on the species. Like humans, species perform a series of actions to try to control this feeling.

Living in nature entails constant stress for animals, as they face multiple challenges and situations that endanger their lives. According to information from National Geographic, this trauma comes from aspects such as whether they will have enough food to survive, they will become the prey of another animal, or the activities carried out by humans.

Stress causes sleeping problems in animals; In their diet, some eat excessively to try to calm the symptoms and, on occasions, this state is transmitted to other members of their groups.

 

Sleeping problems

 Some of the effects generated by lack of sleep is that insects can lay their eggs in the wrong places (Getty Images)
Barrett Klein, an entomologist at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, explained in an interview with NatGeo that not being able to sleep generates a stressful situation in some mammals and, in the long term, could be harmful to the health of these animals.

This problem has also been reported in insects such as flies. In the study "Chronic social isolation signals starvation and reduces sleep", led by Wanhe Li and Michael W. Young, academics at Rockefeller University, it was shown that this species slept less and ate more when they suffered from social isolation.

The academics explained that social isolation has direct effects on public health and suggested that sleep quality is a key factor in these cases. The conclusion they reached is that this type of loneliness reduces sleep and causes the species to consume more food.

According to NatGeo, this phenomenon also affects butterflies, those that cannot sleep well come to lay their eggs on the wrong plants.

Klein explained in the same interview that bees that do not sleep well have problems when performing their wiggle dance. This movement, which is intended to act as a GPS for the rest of the colony, is done incorrectly and could send the rest to another place.

 

Stress that is transmitted

 A study showed that sticklebacks inherit stress from their mother (Wikipedia)
Oregon State University researcher Scott Heppell explained to the same magazine that animals do not react in the same way to stress as humans, but they do have certain types of responses when exposed to this kind of stimuli.

“I could say that other animals have somewhat analogous responses. Some can affect the performance of their children, ”he explained how stress is “inherited” from parents to their offspring.

This aspect was demonstrated in the research "Sex-specific plasticity through generations II: the effects of the grandfather are specific to the lineage and sex", where the researcher Jennifer K. Hellmann together with her work team explained that the little ones sticklebacks can pass their traumas on to their babies.

 

https://www.infobae.com/mascotas/2023/04/27/falta-de-sueno-y-comer-en-exceso-los-efectos-del-estres-en-los-animales-salvajes/