Sleeping like a dolphin has its advantages! Would it not be wonderful to rest one of your brain hemispheres at a time and to sleep with one eye open?
Dolphins are fascinating, and their sleep pattern is a great example of biomimicry in the making — a strategy nature perfected long before humans needed it too.
Despite the lack of complete sleep, unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) does not give dolphins any problems with their health or memory. Their immune system, brain plasticity, brain energy metabolism, and thermoregulation help them to compensate for the lack of complete sleep. One half of the brain is in deep sleep, and the eye corresponding to this half is closed while the other half is awake and the eye remains open.
A great way to observe animals sleeping with an eye open is to study birds in your garden or in the local park. Birds look really cute when they are sleeping with one eye open. Threats in the environment, as well as specific requirements, have led to the evolution of asymmetrical sleep. Dolphins, for example, need to go up to the surface to breathe.
Under some circumstances, it seems that even we humans exhibit a similar sleeping style, for example, when we experience trouble sleeping in a new location. This is called the first night effect. When we are familiar with a place, we can enjoy a deep night’s sleep. I love how our observations of animals such as dolphins have helped us gain a deeper understanding of the way we humans sleep.
Try This: One-Eye-Open Watch
Take turns being the “watchful sleeper” — one person closes one eye and rests, while gently reacting if a partner taps their shoulder or makes a sound. How hard is it to stay half-alert? This is a small taste of what a dolphin’s brain does every night.
What if a night-shift worker, a long-distance driver, or a ship’s watchman could borrow the dolphin’s trick — staying just alert enough to respond to danger, even while resting?
Some fatigue-monitoring technology is already exploring this question directly — researchers have built seatbelt sensors that track a driver or pilot’s heartbeat and breathing without ever touching their skin, aiming to catch drowsiness before it becomes dangerous. It’s not the dolphin’s exact trick, but it’s chasing the same goal: staying quietly alert to a body’s real state, even when the person isn’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
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