Do Flies Sleep? [Sleeping Habits Of Flies]

While it has long been established that animals experience similar sleeping patterns to humans, studies linking flies and sleep—whether they sleep at all, what their sleeping habits may be, how flies are affected by a lack of sleep, ect.—were virtually nonexistent until approximately 2008.

Researchers at the University of Queensland determined that flies do, in fact, sleep.

However, according to phys.org, a more recent study from the Imperial College in London revealed that some flies are not necessarily deterred by a lack of sleep, unlike humans and other creatures.

So, Do flies sleep? The short answer is yes…but some of them may not need to.

Keep reading to discover more interesting facts about the sleeping habits of flies.

Table of Contents

How Do Flies Sleep?

As fliesonly.com states, many of the behaviours that flies engage in during sleep are similar to most other living creatures—when flies do sleep.

Here are the three general sleeping habits of flies that researchers have confirmed.

Sleep Patterns Of A Fly.

Most flies, including the common house fly, are conscious during the day and asleep throughout the night.

These flies have trouble navigating in the dark, as they usually rely on reflected bits of light to see. A fly will sleep almost anywhere whenever they feel the need to do so.

Unlike bees or other insects that might return to a colony or search for predators, first.

While flies get most of the sleep they need during the night, they may take brief naps when the sun is still out. Generally, flies will sleep more in warmer climates than in cooler ones.

Like humans and many other creatures, flies experience periods of both light and deep sleep, and baby flies require more sleep than adults for proper brain development.

Where do Flies Sleep?

Flies tend to sleep during the night but they are also known to take very short naps during the day.

In general, flies do not look for a specific place to sleep nor do they seek out areas which are predator-free.

Flies will sleep pretty much anywhere including on walls, floors, blinds, curtains, house plants etc

Sleep Deprivation.

Usually, if a fly is unable to sleep while the sun is down, they will simply sleep for longer than normal during the day to make up for the loss.

However, even in those instances, it has recently been established that some sleep-deprived flies will only nap for an extra five to fifteen minutes, whereas most creatures would require several hours.

Although sleep deprivation can impair a fly’s memory, in certain species of flies, most notably the fruit fly, males do not die earlier than those that sleep regularly.

On average, sleep-deprived female flies seem to die three days before their sleeping counterparts.

The reason for this gender discrepancy has yet to be determined.

Sleep and Drugs.

A fly’s sleep cycle is similarly affected as a human’s under the influence of specific drugs.

Stimulants such as caffeine keep flies awake, and antihistamines or alcohol make flies tired.

Unfortunately, little else is known about how drugs specifically alter a fly’s sleeping habits, as fly drug studies tend to focus on addiction.

Facts About Fly Sleep.

Flies like other insects get most of their sleep during the night.
They also take short naps throughout the day.
Flies really are not fussy where they sleep.
But they do need more sleep in hotter climates than in cooler ones.
If flies don’t get a good nights sleep they will try to sleep more the next day to make up for it. This is known as sleep rebound.

Conclusion.

Although it has been determined that flies do sleep and that many of the fly’s sleeping habits mirror those of other living creatures, we still do not know why some flies do not seem to suffer when they are prevented from sleeping, or why this feature seemingly only applies to males.

There also have not been many studies about how different drugs affect the sleeping habits of flies.

What we do know about how flies sleep is pretty interesting, though.