Did you know that there are animals capable of sleeping more than 20 hours in a row? These long hours of sleep are due to factors such as diet, the amount of activity they do, the needs they must satisfy to stay he althy, their ability to adapt, etc.
On this occasion, on our site we show a list with 15 animals that sleep a lot, in addition to those that do it the least. Discover the animals that sleep the most!
How long do animals sleep?
Just like humans, animals need to sleep, although the time varies in each species Some rest during the night and others they prefer to do it during the day, while other sleepy animals spend most of their time doing this activity.
Sleep helps to recover energy, in addition to relaxing and balancing the metabolism. For this reason, this is a function that all animals perform, without exception!
List of sleepiest animals
What are the animals that sleep the most? Although all animals sleep, not all of them sleep in the same way. Some animals hibernate during the winter to survive high temperatures, however, in this list we will not rely on this data, since the animals included are the ones that sleep the most hours during the day throughout the year. In this way, the sleepy animals and which we will talk about in the following sections are:
- Koala
- Lazy
- Little Brown Bat
- Opossum
- Armadillo
- Ferret
- Pygmy Opossum
- Lemur
- Tiger
- Domestic cat
- Shrew
- Tupaya
- Squirrel
- Lion
- Dog
1. Koala
The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a herbivore belonging to the marsupial family. It lives in trees most of the time, making it difficult for it to move on land.
How long does a koala sleep? The truth is that this is the animal that sleeps the most, since it invests22 hours to sleep, using only 2 to feed and fulfill their physiological needs. This is mainly due to their diet based on eucalyptus, a plant that is very low in nutrients and requires a lot of energy to digest.
two. Lazy
Not to be confused with the sloth bear, as they are different animals. Sloth or sloth is a mammal included in the list of animals that sleep the most, surpassed only by the koala. It is part of the suborder Folívora and has the ability to sleep up to 20 hours a day, a function that performed hanging from tree branches. When he is active, he relieves himself, looks for a partner or simply moves to another place to continue sleeping.
There are domestic sloths that can sleep up to 23 hours a day, since they do not have to make an effort to find their food and do not have to move to new shelters. To discover more "Curiosities of the sloth", do not miss this other article.
3. Little Brown Bat
The little brown bat (Myotis longipes) owes its name to its mere 10 cm in length and 14 kilograms in weight. The color of its fur is light brown on the torso, with darker tones on the rest of the body.
He is a sleepy animal, since he invests 20 hours in this activity. His life expectancy is 7 years.
4. Opossum
The opossum (superfamily Didelphimorphia) is a marsupial characterized by having a 40 cm long tail, a robust body and an elongated snout. It is agile and quick to move through its habitat and has the ability to "play dead" when in danger.
The opossum is on this list of 15 animals that sleep a lot, as it needs about 19 hours of sleep a day to recover energy.
5. Armadillo
The armadillo (family Dasypodidae) is a mammal characterized by its shell and its appearance similar to that of a prehistoric rat. It has a pointed snout and small eyes, in addition, its skin has pink, brown, gray or yellowish tones. It lives in warm, humid climates, such as wooded areas or grasslands.
It is in this list of animals that sleep a lot because it is able to sleep for up to 19 hours at a time.
6. Ferret
The ferret (Mustela putorius furo) is a carnivorous mammal characterized by having an elongated body, short legs and ears, a profiled nose and small eyes. Its fur varies between white, black and silver.
This animal sleeps 18 hours a day When awake it is very active and extremely curious, as well as very sociable and playful. Since in addition to being one of the animals that sleeps the most it is increasingly popular as a pet, if you have decided to share your life with one of these little ones, do not miss this article: "The ferret as a pet".
7. Mountain Pygmy Opossum
The opossum (Burramys parvus) is a marsupial native to South America. He spends about 18 hours a day sleeping. However, once it has woken up, it feeds on everything that can be found in its path, since it is an omnivorous animal. Their diet consists of plants, leaves, fruits, insects, frogs, snakes, small birds, etc.
8. Lemur
The lemur (superfamily Lemuroidea) is a mammal endemic to the island of Madagascar. It belongs to the primate family and lives most of the time on trees, in groups of several members. Its fur is greyish, with black spots around its tail and eyes, which are shades of yellow.
The lemur is another sleepy animal, because sleeps up to 16 hours a day, devoting the rest of the time to feeding, socializing with their peers, etc.
9. Tiger
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is one of the largest and most fearsome animals in the world. A great hunter, he is at the top of the food chain in the areas he inhabits.
This mammal sleeps up to 16 hours, especially during the day, since at night it is mainly dedicated to hunting and moving around to look for a partner The latter is done during the mating season, since the rest of the time it is quite lonely.
10. Domestic cat
The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) is perhaps the most famous household animal after the dog. In addition to the attractiveness of its fur and its pleasant company, it is characterized by spending long hours sleeping.
A common domestic cat can sleep 16 hours a day, while the rest of his time is spent eating, playing or doing his business physiological. Do you want to know more details about this behavior? Don't miss this other article: "How many hours does a cat sleep a day?".
eleven. Shrew
The shrew (subfamily Soricidae) is a mammal that feeds on insects and small invertebrates. It measures between 5 and 8 cm and is characterized by having a pointed snout, small eyes, short fur and a very long tail.
Gets 16 hours of sleep a day and has a life expectancy of 4 years, although he normally only lives 2.
12. Tupaya
Tupayas, belonging to the order Scandentia and also known as scandentians or tree shrews, are small mammals native to the Asian continent. They feed on insects, such as ants, grasshoppers, butterflies, etc.
These animals sleep up to 15 hours a day, very similar to the time tigers spend. The reason for this long sleep seems to be due to the effort they make to acquire their food.
13. Squirrel
Squirrels (subfamily Ratufinae) are rodents found in all parts of the world. They live in trees, except for ground squirrels, which dig their burrows in the ground.
Squirrels are also considered heavy sleepers because they can spend up to 14 hours resting, while in their spare time they spend seek food and change shelter.
14. Lion
The lion (Panthera leo) is the king of the savannah. Its imposing size and mane, in addition to its carnivorous habits, make it an unrivaled specimen. Do you know how long a lion sleeps?
While the females take care of their young and look for the necessary food for the pride, the male lion is among the sleeping animals during the day, since they dedicate to this activity between 13 and 20 hours When they are awake, they spend their time feeding, mating or protecting the female and cubs from other lions.
fifteen. Dog
The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) also occupies a space in this list of animals that sleep a lot, especially because they are among those that sleep the most during the day. While it is true that they remain awake and alert to any threat, they take around 13 hours a day to sleep. This time is distributed in spaces of 8 or 9 hours during the night, adding naps in the morning.
For details, don't miss this article: "How long does a dog sleep?".
Is the groundhog an animal that sleeps a lot?
The term marmot refers to a group of rodents belonging to the Sciuridae family, so we are not just talking about a single species. In fact, there are 14 species of marmots that exist. For many, the expression "sleep like a marmot" is known, this being the reason why these animals are related to the fact of sleeping a lot or very deeply. Well, marmots are part of the animals that hibernate, that is, they spend the winter sleeping, so they can sleep for up to 7 months.
Then, taking into account the detail of hibernation, we could say that the marmot is also one of the animals that sleeps a lot, although the most correct thing would be to say that it is one of the animals that sleeps the most hours in a row. Focusing on animals that sleep the same number of hours per day throughout the year, the koala is the clear winner.
And how long does a dormouse sleep?
The same thing happens with the dormouse as with the marmot, due to the popular expression "sleeping like a dormouse" many are those who believe they are related to the act of sleeping very deeply. Certainly, both expressions are correct, since these animals sleep soundly during hibernation In general, dormice usually sleep about 8 months in a row, which corresponds to the most cold.
Animals that sleep the least
Not only are there animals that sleep a lot, there are also many species that sleep little. These are the animals that sleep the least:
Giraffe
The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is one of the most beautiful and impressive mammals in Africa due to its size and fur. In addition to this, the giraffe takes the prize when it comes to not sleeping, since they only rest 2 hours a day in 10-minute intervals.
Elephant
The elephant (family Elephantidae), also known as the world's largest land mammal, is native to Asia and Africa. His diet is abundant, as he eats up to 200 kilograms of food a day. Despite its heavy feeding and impressive size, it only sleeps 3-4 hours
Cow
Cows (family Bovidae) are ruminants that live in the countryside, where they sleep 4 hours a day They only reach deep sleep when they are lying down, especially at night. The quality of the cows' sleep has a direct impact on the quality of the milk.
Horse
Horses (Equus ferus caballus) spend most of their time standing up, even while they sleep, as this way they can flee in case of danger. Also, just like humans, horses are capable of dreaming. In total, sleep 3 hours a day For more details about how these animals sleep, see this article: "How do horses sleep?".
Goat
Goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) are also an important member of our list, sleeping a maximum of 5 hours a day. The rest of their time is dedicated to grazing and playing with their companions, as they are very sociable animals.
