You might wonder if animals, specifically pigs, also have dreams whenever they drift off to sleep? These sleep so often that it’s impossible not to ask such question.
Pigs have dreams, just like us humans. According to the Irish Examiner, Since they also go through different phases of sleep, these pigs also go through the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Phase.
This is the phase where these pigs experience dreaming, just like humans, because it’s a deep sleep state. Compared to humans who experience dreaming for 25% of the time during the REM phase, pigs only dream for 10% of the time.
So if you notice a pig sleeping, it’s only just a small portion of their sleep that they dream about different things. Some of these pigs also give away signs when they’re dreaming, such as nose wiggling, leg-churning, and ear flapping.
But sleeping is not the only thing that happens in the daily life of a pig. These pigs are one of the most intelligent animals in the planet and whenever they’re not asleep they also think and do a lot of other things that are also quite interesting.
A Pig’s Dreams
Looking at pigs, you’d wonder what they dream about if they really do dream. We see them move a bit, making quivers, twitches or even squeals in their sleep. Just like other studies conducted, we have a slight idea of what they actually dream about.
Just like the studies conducted before on other animals, these pigs could be dreaming about the things they do during the day. If they’re domestic pets, they could be looking for food in their sleep, especially when you see their bodies moving like they’re walking towards something.
Or they could also be dreaming about what food they’re eating. According to studies, animals who dream most likely dream about the activities they did prior to sleeping. Especially if the activity was constantly being done or a routinely activity.
Whatever the pig does during the day, there’s a high possibility that when they go to sleep, this is what they dream about. So if your pig is noticeably active during the day and during his sleep, there’s a high chance that it’s probably doing the same thing in its mind.
The Sleeping Pig
A typical likes to do two things: sleeping and eating. If it’s not sleeping, it’s eating. These pigs sleep for about 9 to 11 hours in a day, depending on how comfortable their sleeping area is. But most of the time, they don’t mind, they just sleep whenever they can.
They start sleeping at 7 in the evening and have naps between 2 to 4 in the afternoon. Quite similar to humans, right? However, their sleeping patterns change like how seasons change. These pigs like sleeping with their back towards a hard wall or stopper because they like to fit snugly in these areas.
One thing about a sleeping pig is that if it tucks in its feet or climbs on top of another pig, it’s definitely not feeling well. If the environment is too cold, it will also tuck its feet in.
These pigs like sleeping in dry areas such as hays or any place that’s far from where they poop. They’re clean animals that don’t want to mix dirt with their sleeping area. Once they’re ready to sleep these pigs, like to bury themselves in their burrow and like to constantly turn it over.
If you’re not sure about what to put as their beddings, better put chips and straws because wood chips absorb slowly. These pigs like a sleeping area that has a great structure and ventilation. Not having seat glands contributes to how they’ll like their sleeping areas.
Other activities of a pig’s brain
Being intelligent animals, other things also happen in a pig’s brain. Which is very similar to other animals such as dogs and cats. Though pigs are much easier to train and require less repetition, they have a few things up their sleeves as well. They can communicate and they can also master tricks.
The grunts that we usually hear from pigs are their simple ways of communicating. Other forms of communication are their various vocalizations such as squeals, huffs, panting, and screams.
Just like humans, they communicate their feelings. These pigs can feel various feelings such as happiness, sadness, fear, terror, excitement, or boredom. Studies show that these pigs have different vocalizations for such emotions.
They also have their specific grunts when they are looking for a mate or they feel lonely.
Generally, these pigs have high pitched squeals when they’re feeling negative emotions. if a pig keeps on whining, screaming, or shrilling, you know that they’re not happy and something’s wrong with them.
If they’re feeling comfortable, they have low grunts or coos that easily give away their comfortable and relaxed feeling.
These pigs can also communicate using their bodies. These pigs tend to show with their bodies, when they’re challenged or when they’re being compliant. They can also show when they’re being fearful and reactive.
Being able to communicate shows that a pig thinks more than just its next meal or how much it still wants to sleep. It also has some use that can help it survive and live better.
For pigs owners, it’s also very common to teach pigs tricks just like how dog owners do. These pigs are also very intelligent and easily catch up on tricks being taught, for as long as there’s also just compensation for them.
Pigs can be taught how to go on walks, how to sit, stay, or wave. Some owners even teach their pigs how to count and identify colors.
By just knowing how to communicate and how to learn tricks, you’d definitely be amazed by just how much a pig’s brain can be so similar to that of a person’s but not too similar.
These pigs are intelligent humans and they definitely do more than just eat, sleep, and dream. They can be a helping hand and a fun friend if you know how to train and teach them properly.
Other animals that dream
It’s not just pigs who dream at night. Other animals also dream, though it’s quite hard to tell if they’re actually dreaming already. One factor is, they can’t vocally say their thoughts or whatever happens in their brain that’s why it’s hard to guess.
Pigs go through the REM sleep and so do animals. However, it appears as if only mammals and birds go through this. Fishes and other cold-blooded animals don’t go through this stage which explains why they don’t dream.
Some studies have shown that cats who went through an alteration during their REM sleep showed signs that they were dreaming. This means that these cats were dreaming and that we somehow have an idea of what there dreaming about.
These cats were raising their heads and arching their backs. They also appeared to be alert and ready to chase prey while they were sleeping. these were strong evidences that they were dreaming while they were asleep.
In other studies from eLife, rats were known to map out the ways to get to the food. These were the effects of being given food before they directly went to sleep.
Since rats were always subjected to various tests like a maze and other activities, they were able to study on whether or not these rats were dreaming as well.
Birds also dream during their sleep. One particular study by biologists from University of Chicago studied a bird’s brain activity both in its sleep and while it was awake.
They studied the Zebra Finch bird that sings wonderful melodies. The activities of the brain, such as the neurons that were activated while it was awake and singing notes, were the same activities that were happening in the mind of the bird while it was sleeping.
This shows that the bird was not only singing during day time, but it was also singing in its mind at night. No wonder the melodies sound perfect because they practice day and night.
But just like how we aren’t sure if these humans can still remember the dreams they had the previous night, we aren’t also sure if these animals can remember what they dreamt about.
One thing’s for sure, these animals have dreams that make them move and wiggle like us when we dream.
Related Questions:
How long do pigs sleep?
These pigs usually sleep for 9-11 hours every day. They start their long slumber at 7 in the evening, and sometimes take naps during the day between 2-4PM.
Are pigs noisy when they sleep?
They can make sounds when they’re sleeping but not all the time. They’re mostly quiet, with a few grunts or huffs every now and then.
How do pigs sleep?
They sleep with their backs leaning on something for support. If these pigs sleep with their feed tucked in, they are usually sick.