Dear Peter,
At the end of the day, you probably curl up in a cozy bed for a little shut eye. Unlike you, most spiders have eight eyes, and they never shut any of them. They don’t even have eyelids!
I talked about spider sleep with my friend Richard Zack, an entomologist and professor in WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. He also runs the biggest insect museum in the state of Washington at WSU. He told me that spiders and insects do rest. They nestle into a safe spot and enter a “stupor,” which means they’re very still.
“We can go out at night—or during the day, depending on the type of critter that we’re looking at—and we can find them when they’re in some type of stupor condition,” Zack said. “So maybe there are a bunch of them sitting on a plant, and they’re not moving.”
While spiders rest, the processes inside their bodies slow way down. Zack says it’s possible to hook up spiders to tiny sensors to measure things like brain activity and muscle movement. That would show what happens inside the spiders’ bodies while they’re resting.
Like most animals, spiders have circadian rhythms. These internal clocks tell the spider when to rest. Just like other animals, some spiders rest at night while others rest during the day.
“They all go through some type of lower activity period. When they do that and how they do it would certainly be affected by where it is that you would normally find them,” Zack said.
There are more than 50,000 species of spiders. They have different habitats and ways of hunting. Those life traits affect when they rest.
Many spiders who build webs are active at night. While you sleep, they build or repair their webs and catch juicy meals. Despite all their eyes, these spiders don’t see very well, so being awake in the dark is no big deal. During the day, they may rest in their webs or in a safe spot nearby. Some orb weaver spiders build a new web every night. They eat the old one in the morning!
Other spiders hunt without spinning a web. Jumping spiders need amazing vision because they pounce on their prey. They’re usually active during the day when there’s more light. At night, some jumping spiders dangle from silk threads while they rest.
There are so many types of spiders. And there’s so much we still don’t know about how they rest. If you’re fascinated by spider sleep, a future in insect science might be dreamy.
Sincerely,
Dr. Universe
FAQs
Just like other animals, some spiders rest at night while others rest during the day. “They all go through some type of lower activity period.
Do spiders dream when they sleep? ›
Jumping spiders rapidly move their eyes and twitch during rest, suggesting they have visual dreams, never before observed in arachnids.
Do spiders close their eyes when they sleep? ›
Spiders do not sleep in the same way that humans do, but like us, they do have daily cycles of activity and rest. Spiders can't close their eyes because they don't have eyelids but they reduce their activity levels and lower their metabolic rate to conserve energy.
Do spiders curl up when they sleep? ›
This apparent “quiet” sleep state is punctuated by a more active state, with unique posture, twitching, and rapid retinal movements. The spiders' legs stereotypically curl while hanging or partially curl while standing in a manner suggesting muscle atonia.
How to tell if a spider is sleeping? ›
Body Language. During hibernation, spiders tuck in their legs and their metabolic rates slow to help them survive. This means they don't burn as many calories and can survive without eating, living in a sleeplike state until cold weather ends. The same tucked-in position may indicate a sleeping spider.
Do spiders have feelings? ›
While it is challenging to ascertain whether spiders experience emotional response to pain in the same way humans do, evidence suggests that they do exhibit signs of distress or aversion towards certain stimuli.
Do spiders have thoughts? ›
Most marvelous of all is that recent research suggests spiders think using their webs. A study out of Oxford University found that spiders show sophisticated cognitive functioning by nature of the fact that spinning a web requires planning.
How to tell if a spider is playing dead? ›
A gentle breeze of air can encourage a live spider to scurry away. However, if you blow air toward a spider and it merely rocks back and forth, it is most likely dead. Spiders do not like being disturbed, so a rush of air is enough to scare them out of playing possum.
What do spiders do all day? ›
Many spiders who build webs are active at night. While you sleep, they build or repair their webs and catch juicy meals. Despite all their eyes, these spiders don't see very well, so being awake in the dark is no big deal. During the day, they may rest in their webs or in a safe spot nearby.
Should I sleep in my bed if I found a spider? ›
Should I sleep in my bed if I found a spider? Finding a spider in your bed might be unsettling, but most are harmless and unlikely to pose a threat. If you're comfortable doing so, gently relocate the spider outside using a container and a piece of paper.
Spiders are most active at night, and they're often on the hunt for their prey (insects) while we're fast asleep. In general, you'll see an increase in spider sightings during late summer and early autumn.
How long do spiders live? ›
Some spiders have life spans of less than a year, while others may live for up to twenty years. However, spiders face many dangers that reduce their chances of reaching a ripe old age. Spiders and their eggs and young are food for many animals.
Do spiders need to drink water? ›
Just like humans, all spiders need water. However, the amount they require will vary depending on their species and environmental conditions- some can survive on very little, while others will dehydrate quickly without regular access to water.
Why do I see spiders when I'm half asleep? ›
Hypnagogic hallucinations are vivid experiences that occur as a person falls asleep. Hallucinations can involve visual, auditory, or physical sensations, and can be quite intense and realistic. Although harmless, they may be triggered by increased stress, sleep deprivation, or medications.
Why do spiders raise their front legs? ›
To bite their prey these spiders must raise the front of the body, allowing the fangs to open like a pair of daggers for a downward strike.
Do spiders go on your bed at night? ›
So unless there is some sort of food source for them in or around your bed, spiders are not likely to come crawling on you while you sleep. Spiders love to eat bugs and other creepy crawlies. If you have crumbs or plates of half eaten food next to your bed, flies or other bugs maybuzz around, attracting spiders.
Why do spiders just hang? ›
Web-spinning spiders obviously remain motionless while they are waiting for something to land in their web. Moving around wastes energy and draws attention to the spider, which makes it more likely to be eaten by birds, and makes flies less likely to get caught in the web.
Many spiders who build webs are active at night. While you sleep, they build or repair their webs and catch juicy meals. Despite all their eyes, these spiders don’t see very well, so being awake in the dark is no big deal. During the day, they may rest in their webs or in a safe spot nearby. Some orb weaver spiders build a new web every night. They eat the old one in the morning!
Other spiders hunt without spinning a web. Jumping spiders need amazing vision because they pounce on their prey. They’re usually active during the day when there’s more light. At night, some jumping spiders dangle from silk threads while they rest.
