Sleep problems are not exclusive to humans, orangutans also suffer similar problems when they do not get enough sleep. But just like humans, these animals solve it in the same way: with a nap.
A group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) and the University of Constance in Germany, together with scientists from the National University of Indonesia, revealed that orangutans, when they do not get enough sleep, lie down to sleep.
For this, the team worked with specimens from the Indonesian rainforest, where they examined the sleep patterns of wild adult orangutans, as their ability to solve sleep problems had not been studied before. In this way, the scientists collected data from 53 specimens over 14 years, resulting in a total of 455 days and nights of orangutan behavior.
This is how they discovered that orangutans’ sleep periods lasted, on average, nearly 13 hours. Additionally, they found several factors associated with shorter sleep periods, such as sleeping near other orangutans, longer daily travels, and colder night temperatures.
Orangutans nap to recover lost sleep during the night.
Napping as a Response
Like humans, these animals sleep in beds, known as “nests,” which provide them with a safe place to rest. Each night, an adult orangutan would settle in a high place in the jungle and spend minutes building its resting place, as they usually sleep alone. Orangutan mothers, on the other hand, shared nests with their offspring.
Since they are used to sleeping alone, building their nests near other orangutans can shorten their sleep period, as specialists believe that this could be interrupted by other animals or simply because they prioritize socialization over sleep.
This leads them to have to recover from sleep loss, and that’s where the famous nap comes into play. According to the team, this nap time has a clear compensatory effect on these animals, as they slept 5 to 10 minutes more for every hour less of sleep from the previous night.
According to experts, naps can help orangutans recover physiologically and cognitively after a night of poor sleep, just like humans. They even add that this nap sleeping strategy could be due to their semi-solitary lifestyle, as they can sleep wherever and whenever they want, although their daytime nests are not as sophisticated and comfortable as those they build for the night.
Other Behaviors that Make Them Similar to Humans
In addition to sleep, orangutans share with humans a series of complex behaviors that reflect high levels of intelligence and sociability. For example, they use tools strategically: they break branches to reach fruits, use leaves as umbrellas or even as sponges to drink water from tree hollows.
They also show a remarkable capacity for social learning. Young orangutans observe their mothers and other adults to learn skills necessary for survival, involving a teaching and cultural transmission process similar to humans. Additionally, they display empathy, comfort, and care towards other individuals in their group, especially in stressful or dangerous situations.
Another shared characteristic is complex communication. Although they do not use a spoken language like humans, orangutans express themselves through gestures, vocalizations, and facial expressions to convey emotional states or intentions. These behaviors place them among the primates closest to our species in terms of cognition and social bonds.
