Significance of perch height Predators are believed to play a large role in an organism's sleeping patterns. To adapt to predation pressures , two common techniques have evolved which appear common across taxa. The first is to position oneself out of harm's way while sleeping, while another method is to engage in lighter forms of sleep (i.e. unihemispheric sleep) to remain somewhat alert while resting . In birds, perch height is believed to play a significant role in the sleep-type state. Lower perch height has been shown to significantly reduce REM sleep duration and bouts in pigeons, while higher perch increases REM sleep and decreases slow-wave sleep.Tisdale, R. K.; Lesku, J. A.; Beckers, G. J. L.; Vyssotski, A. L. & Rattenborg, N. C. (October 1, 2018). "The low-down on sleeping down low: pigeons shift to lighter forms of sleep when sleeping near the ground". Findings also suggest that  time spent awake by pigeons increases when nesting in lower perches. Intuitively, lower perch heights would be correlated to higher risk of predation , so REM sleep would place the pigeon in a higher dangerprobability since it is a less reactive form of sleep . Further studies have been suggested to investigate how long birds will maintain these types of sleeping patterns or whether acclamation would eventually occur since REM sleep is vital for proper physiological functioning .
Perch height Predators are believed to play a large role in an organism's sleeping patterns. To adapt to predation , two common techniques have evolved : positioning oneself out of harm's way while sleeping, and sleeping more lightly (such as unihemispheric sleep) . In birds, perch height is believed to play a significant role in sleep; lower perch height has been shown to reduce the number and length of REM sleep episodes in pigeons, and a higher perch increases REM sleep and decreases slow-wave sleep.Tisdale, R. K.; Lesku, J. A.; Beckers, G. J. L.; Vyssotski, A. L. & Rattenborg, N. C. (October 1, 2018). "The low-down on sleeping down low: pigeons shift to lighter forms of sleep when sleeping near the ground". Findings also suggest that the time spent awake by pigeons increases when nesting on lower perches. Lower perch height correlates to a higher risk of predation ; REM sleep would place the pigeon in more danger, since it is a less reactive form of sleep .
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