Researchers studying the Australian jumping spider *Portia fimbriata* report evidence that spiders experience regulated sleep, including a REM-like stage. Using recordings taken over multiple days and nights, the team identifies distinct sleep phases, with the REM-like portion marked by eye movements and muscle twitches.
The findings are discussed across outlets as a sign that sleep in spiders may be organized in ways that resemble aspects of human sleep. ScienceDaily, ABC Australia, and Phys.org all frame the study around two sleep phases and the presence of a REM-like state, with ABC Australia and Phys.org more explicitly linking the REM-like stage to “dreaming” or human REM comparisons.
The reporting is broadly consistent on what was observed and which species was studied, while differing mainly in how directly they connect the results to dreaming and how much methodological or contextual detail they foreground.
