If you breathe with your gills, fish can breathe freely in the water, and if you breathe with your lungs, you must float to the water surface to breathe the oxygen in the air, and cannot use the oxygen in the water. This is why we can see that whale will float to the water to "jet", and this kind of jet is actually the whale breathing. In order to breathe, whales will float to the water surface to ventilate, and they will have to float to the water surface every once in a while, otherwise they will be drowned. What should I do when I sleep?
Have you seen sperm whale sleeping? When sperm whales enter deep sleep, they will hang vertically in the water, just like bamboo leaves and green tea soaked in water cups. From a distance, you can see the sperm whales gathering together and floating, looking like a pile of driftwood floating in the sea, so it is also called "logging". When the sperm whales are vertical, it means that they have entered deep sleep. At this time, their perception of the surroundings has greatly decreased. They will only notice it unless the ship passing by touches their heads. If the sperm whale is lying flat at this time, that is, floating horizontally, it means that the sperm whale has not yet entered deep sleep. At this time, if there is any abnormal movement around them, they will notice it.
Under normal circumstances, adults sleep about 6 to 8 hours a day, but if it is an infant or a child, the sleep time will only be longer. If sperm whales also sleep for such a long time, the longest interval between each breathing is about two hours. In this case, sperm whales will definitely be suffocated to death when sleeping, but in fact, sperm whales do not have the current situation of suffocating to death during sleep. Why is this? Because sperm whales only sleep about 7% of the day.
The sleeping posture and length of sleep of sperm whales are very different from that of humans. In addition, what other structural functions can prevent them from being suffocated to death when they sleep?
In addition to sleeping time, sperm whales also breathe differently from us. Their nostrils have special structures, so they will not be easily choked after entering the water, just like human nostrils. The nostrils of the sperm whale are not on the top of the mouth, and are not open like humans. If the nostrils are open, the water will easily enter the respiratory system and cause suffocation. There are muscle flaps on the whale's stomata, which can close the stomata. Therefore, the stomata will open after it floats out of the water. At this time, ventilation is performed, and the stomata will be closed after ventilation to isolate the water into the respiratory system. As for the so-called ventilation, we can usually see that a whale floats out of the water surface and sprays a huge column of water, or should be said to be a column of air, which is not really squirting water. In fact, it is a small drop of water formed by the warm water vapor in the whale's lungs after it is condensed when it is cooled and condensed. This is the same principle as the principle of white air in winter.
The structure of the respiratory system of a sperm whale is actually very different from the structure of the human respiratory system. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for humans to breathe while eating. Generally, they only breathe after eating and swallowing, otherwise they will only be choked. Because the human trachea and esophagus share a pharynx, when we are swallowing, there is something called epiglottis on the trachea and esophagus. It will be like a small lid. When eating, it covers the trachea to prevent food from entering the airway. When breathing, it covers the esophagus to prevent gas from entering the stomach and causing gas to bloating. Whales do not have these worries, because whales have completed the separation of the esophagus and trachea during their evolution. The respiratory system and digestive system are two independent systems, and there is no overlapping part between them, so whales will not worry about choking while eating.
The respiratory system structures of people and whales are different, so they can sleep in the sea. Is there any other aspect that can help whales hold their breath?
In terms of oxygen utilization, humans and whales are also very different. Generally speaking, the air we inhale contains a lot of oxygen, and the air we exhaled still absorbs a lot of oxygen. In each breath, only about 15% of the oxygen is used by us humans. Whales are different. During their breathing, each oxygen can be fully utilized, and their use of inhaled oxygen can reach more than 90%. Moreover, after each breath, the time interval between the next breath is relatively long. For example, sperm whales can dive to the bottom of more than 2,000 meters deep after completing a breathing. The human diving record holder is only 170 meters underwater, and the longest time to hold his breath underwater can be up to 19 minutes.
In addition, a large amount of myoglobin and hemoglobin in whales can also help them hold their breath for a long time. As the name suggests, myoglobin and hemoglobin exist in muscles and blood respectively. Their functions are to store and carry oxygen, which are closely related to the utilization of oxygen. The higher the content of these two protein , the stronger the ability to carry and store oxygen. Compared with humans, whales, the hemoglobin content of myoglobin and is much higher. The hemoglobin content of normal adult men is between 120 grams per liter and 160 grams per liter, while the hemoglobin content of whales reaches more than 300 grams per liter. It is worth mentioning that myoglobin is red. If we cut through the whale's muscles, we can find that the whale's muscles are not only red, but also black. In this way, under the simultaneous action of several functions, whales can sleep in the sea with peace of mind, and do not have to worry about the danger of being suffocated to death.
