Have you ever watched your pet sleep and wondered if they’re dreaming? If your dog twitches its paws or your cat’s whiskers wiggle, you might think they’re having a dream. But have you ever seen an octopus doze off? Well, meet Heidi—the octopus who changes colors while she’s sleeping, and it’s absolutely mesmerizing.
While it’s still a mystery whether octopuses truly experience REM sleep, scientists have discovered some interesting things about their rest. When an octopus is asleep, its body undergoes some unusual movements. This happens because, even in a relaxed state, their optic system fires up, triggering color-changing cells called chromatophores. So, while Heidi is resting, her skin changes colors, almost like she’s responding to some invisible dream world.
Sidarta Ribeiro and his team at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil studied this sleep pattern. They spent days and nights filming four octopuses, clocking over 180 hours of footage. They found that these creatures go through two distinct sleep stages: an “active” phase and a “passive” one.
During the passive phase, octopuses stay still, their pupils close, and their skin turns pale. They’re quiet and hardly move—just like a deep sleep. But about every 30 to 40 minutes, something amazing happens. The octopuses slip into an “active” sleep phase, where they start changing color, and their skin develops tiny bumps known as papillae. It’s a lively, busy phase—kind of like the octopus is dreaming!
But how do we know they’re truly asleep? Ribeiro’s team tested their reactions to visual stimuli—things like flashing lights or movement—but surprisingly, the octopuses didn’t respond. It’s almost like they were in another world entirely!
In the video of Heidi, you can watch her change from a soft white to a dark violet before adopting a camouflage pattern. This isn’t just a one-time event. In fact, back in 2017, a Caribbean double-point octopus was also caught on camera changing color while it slept. Could this be proof that octopuses experience dreams?
So, the next time you see an octopus resting, remember that they might not just be sleeping—they could be dreaming, shifting colors in a world we can only imagine. Have you ever seen an octopus sleep like this? Share this video with your friends, and let’s see who else is amazed by this colorful wonder!
