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Biology open2023; 12(7); bio059964; doi: 10.1242/bio.059964

Towards an objective measurement of sleep quality in non-human animals; using the horse as a model species for the creation of sleep quality indices.

Abstract: Sleep disturbance is observed across species, resulting in neurocognitive dysfunction and poor impulse control/regulation of negative emotion. Understanding animal sleep disturbance is thus important to understand how environmental factors influence animal sleep and day-to-day welfare. Self-reporting tools for sleep disturbance are commonly used in human research to determine sleep quality, that cannot be transferred to non-verbal animal species research. Human research has, however, successfully used frequency of awakenings to create an objective measurement of sleep quality. The aim of this study was to utilise a novel sleep quality scoring system for a non-human mammalian species. Five separate sleep quality indices calculations were developed using frequency of awakenings and total sleep time/total time spent in different sleep states. These indices were applied to a pre-existing data set of equine sleep behaviour taken from a study investigating the effects of environmental change (lighting and bedding) on the duration of time in different sleep states. Significant treatment effects for index scores both differed and aligned to the original sleep quantity results, thus sleep quality may be a useful alternative measurement of sleep disturbance that could be used to investigate impactful (emotional, cognitive) effects on the animal.
© 2023. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2023-06-20 PubMed ID: 37378461PubMed Central: PMC10373578DOI: 10.1242/bio.059964Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study aims to develop a system for objectively measuring sleep quality in animals, using horses as a model. By examining frequency of awakenings and total time spent in various sleep states, they were able to create a quantifiable metric for sleep disturbance in animals.

Research Background

  • This research focuses on understanding disturbances in animal sleep and how it is affected by environmental factors. Sleep disturbances can lead to issues such as neurocognitive dysfunction and difficulties in controlling negative emotions. These disturbances can potentially impact the overall welfare of the animal.
  • While self-reporting tools are widely used in human studies to assess sleep quality, these methods are not transferrable to non-human, non-verbal species.
  • There is a precedent in human research for using the frequency of awakenings as an objective measure of sleep quality. This approach is adopted and developed further in this study to create a measurable metric for non-human species.

Research Methodology

  • In this study, the researchers developed a novel scoring system designed to quantify sleep quality in non-human species, specifically focusing on horses.
  • The scoring system was based on five separate sleep quality indices, which were calculated according to the frequency of awakenings and total time spent in different sleep states.
  • The sleep indices were applied to an existing dataset of equine sleep behavior, which had originally been compiled for a separate study investigating how changes in environment (lighting and bedding) affect time spent in different sleep states.

Research Findings and Implications

  • Significant treatment effects on the index scores were found, which varied in alignment with the results of the original sleep quantity study.
  • These findings suggest that sleep quality may be a valuable alternative metric for measuring sleep disturbance in animals. By using this objective measure, researchers could investigate potential cognitive and emotional effects on an individual animal which might impact its sleep patterns.
  • The data from this study could be used to inform and influence animal care and welfare by proactively addressing environmental factors that negatively affect the sleep quality of animals and implementing changes to mitigate their effects.

Cite This Article

APA
Greening L, Allen S, McBride S. (2023). Towards an objective measurement of sleep quality in non-human animals; using the horse as a model species for the creation of sleep quality indices. Biol Open, 12(7), bio059964. https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.059964

Publication

Biology open
ISSN: 2046-6390
NlmUniqueID: 101578018
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 7
PII: bio059964

Researcher Affiliations

Greening, Linda
  • Equestrian Performance Centre, Hartpury University, Gloucester, GL19 3BE, UK.
Allen, Sian
  • Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion, SY23 3DA, UK.
McBride, Sebastian
  • Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion, SY23 3DA, UK.

Conflict of Interest Statement

. The authors declare no competing or financial interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Greening L, Harkin E, Kyriazopoulou P, Heppelthwaite Z, Aragona F, Browne JA, Hemmings A, Williams JM, Murphy BA. Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rate in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus). PLoS One 2025;20(6):e0326567.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0326567pubmed: 40577374google scholar: lookup
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