You think you need more sleep? Tell that to an elephant seal

Sleep is a precious commodity for people and across the animal kingdom, indispensable even as its biological purpose remains somewhat mysterious. We spend about a third of our lives asleep. But some animals get a lot less slumber – with certain species like the northern elephant seal taking sleeplessness to an extreme. Researchers in a new study described the unusual sleep habits of this species, finding that during Pacific Ocean foraging journeys that can last seven months these bulky marine mammals sleep just two hours a day – cobbled together from naps of about 10 minutes each as they dive deep to avoid predators. The only other mammal known to get so little sleep is the African elephant.