how do dolphins and whales sleep without drowning?

[Darwin333]

Damn, so not only do dolphins get a better breathing apparatus than us but they have also evolved better sleep patterns. Those bastards get all of the good shit.

 

[MongGrel]

Well I'm not dumb.

All the kim jong un pictures had me trying to figure out if I missed some gills joke.

Unless it pertains to doing squats, you can pretty much disregard anything Speedy says.

 

[Artorias]

That was actually an interesting read, thanks!

I concur!

 

[JEDIYoda]

scuba gear

 

[William Gaatjes]

most aquatic animals do not sleep as land animals do; part of their brain remains always awake, some switch between two. because, you know, evolution. death by drowning is pretty bad for evolution.

Yep. As a sidenote, there was recently an article that (Probably other mammals can do this as well) humans when moving to a new and different location, that part of the brain is much more active while a sleep at this new and different location. Part of the brain stays awake to keep track of any possible dangers that might arise at the new location. A sort of guard system against predators.
The sleep is less deep.
Only after a few nights on the same location does the brain goes into the normal mode of sleep. This mechanism might be present with all mammals and may have been present for millions of years. This could be a sort of common base for what dolphins and whales do while a sleep in the water and what mammals on land do when sleeping at a new locations.

 

[BurnItDwn]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2476308
My reply was a parody of replies in that thread. But, I quoted the post that had the answer to the OP's question, so that people would know better than to think I was serious.

However, it is also possible that some 4th grader, somewhere, will ask the same question to Google or some other search engine, find this thread, and for his class presentation, inform all the other 4th graders that dolphins and whales have gills that they use to breath while they're sleeping.

Well, you are a teacher, and if a teacher said it's gills, then it's gotta be gills!

 

[brainhulk]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...aptures-sperm-whales-sleeping-vertically.html

 

[ronbo613]

This thread blowholes

 

[Murloc]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...aptures-sperm-whales-sleeping-vertically.html

now that's something cool I haven't seen before.

 

[SKORPI0]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...aptures-sperm-whales-sleeping-vertically.html

now that's something cool I haven't seen before.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They sleep upside down, so the water does not get into the hole.

 

[Exterous]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/t...aptures-sperm-whales-sleeping-vertically.html

Thats awesome that they got to see that