Does a nap on a cold, rainy day sound heavenly? Do you wish there was just a little more time in your life for some restful sleep? Take a cue from your dog or cat. They’ve got it all figured out!
On average, a cat sleeps 16 hours a day. Baby kittens and senior cats sleep as much as 20 hours a day. What a great gig! How’d they get to be so lucky? Well, it’s all in their DNA.
Cats have evolved as a predator, meaning they are hardwired to give chase and hunt. And hunting takes an enormous amount of energy. Now your kitty may only hunt a catnip toy at home, but he is still reserving his energy for running, pouncing, climbing and stalking.
Although cats may snooze away 16 hours a day, their sleep is not quite like a human’s. They get their rest through short and long naps instead of one long slumber at night. Cats usually fall asleep quickly, but their senses are still on alert — especially their senses of smell and hearing — so they can spring into action at a moment’s notice if they smell or hear a mouse nearby.
Ever wonder what your dog does while you’re at work all day? He’s probably sleeping!
Although dogs don’t typically sleep as much as cats, they still get more snoozing in than the typical human. On average, a dog sleeps 12 to 14 hours a day. They are referred to as flexible sleepers. That means they are more adaptable to sleeping when convenient as opposed to a specific block of time. If nothing interesting is happening, a dog will just take a nap. But, like a cat, dogs can quickly jump into action when something exciting happens.
Dogs typically spend about 50 percent of the day sleeping, 30 percent lying around awake, and just 20 percent being active. However, a dog’s job, breed and age can also affect the amount they sleep. Working dogs, like police or farm dogs, are more active and can adapt to less sleep. Some of the larger breeds tend to get more sleep, as well as senior dogs and little puppies.
A human’s sleep pattern involves sleeping for one long stretch at night and spending about 25 percent of their sleep in the state of rapid eye movement (REM). Dogs, with their shorter sleep periods, spend just about 10 percent of their sleep time in REM. That may explain why they need more hours of total sleep to get enough REM sleep to feel rested.
A cold or rainy day can also affect the amount of sleep your pet gets. A few hours of extra snoozing curled up in a ball in the middle of a rainy afternoon is just perfect for your pet.
Sounds like our pets have got the sleep thing all figured out!
— Brown County Humane Society
