Trees sleep at night. Using laser scanning, scientists discovered that branches droop slightly at night, likely as trees relax and lower internal water pressure. Come sunrise, they “wake up,” lifting their branches again. It’s not dreaming — but it’s definitely resting.
by scienceisfun112358
4 Comments
[This article article appears to be AI slop](https://imgur.com/a/YpqNI35), at least in part.
I know all I need to know about this article based on fact 1.
> Trees Talk to Each Other
No they don’t. Evidence for the “wood wide web” is [sketchy at best](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01986-1).
My interpretation of trees “sleeping at night” would be that the branches droop because they become more full of water than during the day, becoming heavier. Trees spend the day fighting the atmospheric demand for water, opening and closing stomata attempting to maintain leaf water potential. At night when the sun goes down, the atmosphere becomes less arid, allowing the tree to re establish leaf water potential. However, trees do in fact [grow at night](https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.17552). Because of the atmospheric demand for water which takes place during the day, trees don’t have the resources necessary to undergo cell expansion, which takes a considerable amount of water. They therefore will grow at night, or occasionally other times when atmospheric aridity drops, like during rain events.
Get this crap off the Internet.
Anyone who argues that plants don’t have a circadian cycle which is associated with the sun going down hasnt grown plants. Plants sleep. They need the darkness as much as they need the sun. When the sun sets, plants begin several processes that are very distinct from their processes when the sun is up in the day.
We’ve known that plants do this for a long time, is this study news?
OMG yall trees are a mechanical water pump. The sun and wind is what pumps the water. Its like having a giant sponge at the top of a straw. They don’t sleep or dream.