Unusual Sleeping Habits in Animals

A new documentary has revealed that animals also have peculiar sleeping habits, such as dolphins swimming while asleep with half their brain awake, or some bird species sleeping with one eye closed and the other open…

Researchers conducted a study on the sleep patterns of various animals in an effort to compare and find treatments for sleep disorders in humans. They used high-tech cameras to explore how creatures, from red pandas to meerkats and elephants, spent a night at the Bristol Zoo in the UK.

The research team discovered that, while sleeping, both humans and some animals like octopuses and squids exhibited rapid eye movement (REM), which is associated with deep sleep and dreaming.

Meerkats always pile on top of each other to sleep while keeping their ears perked up to listen for unusual sounds. (Photo: Corbis)

During deep sleep, dogs can still bark and move their legs as if running, while platypuses simulate hunting crustaceans. A dog and a cat were even caught on camera sleepwalking while they were asleep.

The research team further explored that an animal’s sleep is influenced by its survival capabilities in its environment. Animals that are more likely to become prey tend to sleep less than those at the top of the food chain.

For instance, meerkats have a habit of sleeping piled on top of each other in their burrow, with one ear always perked up to listen for danger. The dominant female in the group sleeps in the center and has the deepest sleep. The sentry meerkats sleep on the outskirts and are the first to wake if they hear any noise.

Some birds, such as flamingos, have a unique sleeping style, keeping one eye closed and the other open to stay alert for nocturnal predators. Meanwhile, golden squirrels have the remarkable ability to balance on a tree branch while sleeping, waking up immediately at the slightest movement.

To maintain vigilance, African baboons (Papio papio) adopt a peculiar sleeping position on their heels, making it difficult for them to enter deep sleep.

Dolphins alternate which hemisphere of their brain is awake, allowing them to swim and breathe while they sleep. (Photo: Corbis)

Some marine animals, such as dolphins, also have quite unusual sleep habits. Dolphins take turns keeping each hemisphere of their brain awake so that they can continue swimming and breathing while they sleep.

Researchers note that the amount of sleep animals need also depends on their metabolic rate. Smaller animals tend to require more sleep, except for some large top predators like lions, which can sleep over 8 hours a day.

Herbivores like giraffes and cows spend so much time eating that they have little time left for sleep. For example, giraffes typically sleep only 2 hours a night and can stay awake for weeks without any issues.

Which animal sleeps the most?

Sleep duration can range from a few hours to nearly 24 hours in the animal kingdom. Below are some animals that sleep the most on average:

Brown Bat: 20 hours a day
Lion: 19 hours a day
Giant Armadillo: 18 hours a day
North American Opossum: 18 hours a day
Tiger: 18 hours a day
Cat: 14 hours a day
Dog: 13 hours a day

The amount of sleep each species gets depends on their habitat; however, wild dogs tend to sleep less than domestic dogs. A bear in the wild will have different sleeping habits compared to one in a zoo.