Cats desire to sleep on their left facet. That is the conclusion drawn by a global analysis group that analyzed a number of hundred YouTube movies of sleeping cats. The researchers see this bias as an evolutionary benefit as a result of it favors looking and escape habits after waking up. The group from the College of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy), Ruhr College Bochum, Medical College Hamburg and different companions in Germany, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey report on the research within the journal Present Biology, revealed on-line on June 23, 2025.
All animals are significantly susceptible whereas sleeping. Cats sleep round 12 to 16 hours a day, ideally in elevated locations the place their predators can solely entry them from beneath. The analysis group round Dr. Sevim Isparta from the Animal Physiology and Behaviour Analysis Unit in Bari and Professor Onur Güntürkün from the Bochum working group Biopsychology wished to search out out whether or not cats desire to sleep on one facet or the opposite. “Asymmetries in habits can have benefits as a result of each hemispheres of the mind specialise in totally different duties,” says Onur Güntürkün.
Perceiving risks with the left visible area brings benefits
The group analyzed 408 publicly out there YouTube movies wherein a single cat was clearly seen with its whole physique sleeping on one facet for at the very least ten seconds. Solely unique movies had been used; modified or flipped materials was excluded from the research. Two thirds of the movies confirmed cats sleeping on their left facet.
The reason: Cats that sleep on their left facet understand their environment upon awakening with their left visible area, which is processed in the proper hemisphere of the mind. This hemisphere is specialised in spatial consciousness, the processing of threats and the coordination of speedy escape actions. If a cat sleeps on its left shoulder and wakes up, visible details about predators or prey goes on to the proper hemisphere of the mind, which is greatest in processing them. “Sleeping on the left facet can due to this fact be a survival technique,” the researchers conclude.
Cooperation companions
- College of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy)
- Ruhr College Bochum (Germany)
- Medical College Hamburg (Germany)
- Analysis Institute for Farm Animal Biology (Germany)
- College of Prince Edward Island (Canada)
- Kafkas College (Turkey)
- Federal Meals Security and Veterinary Workplace (Switzerland)
