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Hibernation functions to conserve energy when sufficient food is not available. To achieve this energy saving, an endothermic animal decreases its metabolic rate and thereby its body temperature. [3] Hibernation may last days, weeks, or months—depending on the species, ambient temperature, time of year, and the individual's body-condition.
Sleep can follow a physiological or behavioral definition. In the physiological sense, sleep is a state characterized by reversible unconsciousness, special brainwave patterns, sporadic eye movement, loss of muscle tone (possibly with some exceptions; see below regarding the sleep of birds and of aquatic mammals), and a compensatory increase following deprivation of the state, this last known ...
This adaptation of increasing body temperature to forage has been observed in small nocturnal mammals when they first wake up in the evening. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Although homeothermy lends advantages such as increased activity levels, small mammals and birds maintaining an internal body temperature spend up to 100 times more energy in low ...
Some people believe grey squirrels hibernate because they are seldom seen during the colder months. However, grey squirrels remain active all year. They are most active in the hours just after ...
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During the first year, the squirrels began hibernation in late October. They started hibernating in mid August and early April respectively for the following two years, displaying a circannual rhythm with a period of about 10 months. [5] An annual rhythm has been observed in humans diagnosed with obsessive compulsive tic disorder (OCTD).
Although a bear's body temperature decreases less than that of other mammals which undergo true hibernation, mostly changing around 6-7 degrees Celsius, this is a result of their large, heat-retaining body masses. [2] Their metabolism, the main indicator of hibernation, lowers significantly. [3]
The desire for, or occurrence of, more sleep during winter may have to do with how light fluctuates throughout the year, or with the behavioral and mental health changes that can result.