Tired? Me too. I could do with a couple of extra hours sleep per night. Or could I?
I’ve always found 8 and a 1/2 hours sleep to be the optimum, but a survey done a few years back by a couple of researchers in Japan revealed that people who sleep roughly 7 hours a night live longer than those who sleep more. They found that those who slept 8 hours a night had a “significantly higher mortality than those who slept 7 hours” with mortality risks increasing the longer the snooze. Moving in the other direction, it was only when people reported having 4 hours sleep or less a night that increased mortality was again noted.
So we might be better off with 7 hours sleep a night, but there are some animals out there who need far less than that and some that need far more. The beloved giraffe is the shortest sleeper amongst mammals. They sleep only 1.9 hours a night on average, and often that is taken in smaller naps. As well as needing an incredibly short sleep per night, they mostly sleep standing up, twisting their necks back and resting their heads on their backs.
If just thinking about that makes you feel sleepy, you must be more like the Brown Bat that sleeps a whopping 19.9 hours a night. Well, I say a night but really that amounts to all of the night and half of the day as well. AND, not only do they spend all that time asleep, they top it off with a 6 month hibernation each year. Sensible creatures.
Here’s a sample of other animal species and their average snooze times:
Squirrel 14.9 hours
Rat 12.6 hours
Cat 12.1 hours
Hedgehog 10.1 hours
Pig 7.8 hours
Goat 5.3 hours
Elephant 3.5 hours
Horse 2.9 hours
Interesting huh? Now I’m off to catch some z’s myself.
‘Night, ‘night.
Yes, quite interesting … Thanks for the post!
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Absolutely fascinating!
I’m stunned at an elephant’s average sleep time — you’d think to power a mass of that size, sleep would be a greater necessity!
š
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I know, I was stunned at how many animals need so little sleep.
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Since i started to blog, My sleep is getting less day by day.
If one sleep 2 hour less for the next 50 years, that is additional 4 years in life to be awake.
Excercise more , sleep less and enjoy life !!
Cheers,
GaneshMuthiah
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This is really interesting, but does Quality vs Quantity come into affect here, at least as far as humans go? I mean, sleeping five hours a night would eventually catch up to us, right? I’m not sure, of course, as I wasn’t the one doing the research. So anyways… good post. =)
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Very good point. I’m sure there were lots of factors included in the research, I just quoted the overall results. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t live on 5 hours sleep a night!
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You need to add average snooze time for my dogs: 24/7
Blessings,
Ava
xox
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed.
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Thank you. Yes, pet snoozing time really ups the total hours (lucky creatures!)
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Great post and congrats on being Freshly Pressed! I think I am going to ask Santa to turn me into a bat for Christmas…would love to catch on some sleep. I haven’t had a good night’s rest since I had kids…16 years ago!
Happy Holidays!
Gina
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Let me know how the bat transformation goes, I’m pretty tempted myself.
Happy Christmas.
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I love sleep. I would rather sleep more and die young…as bad as that sounds. Yep, I am a total squirrel.
Happy holidays!
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I agree about the quality versus quantity. 4 hours of deep, restful sleep can be far more invigorating than 7 hours of light sleep. At any rate, I strive for 7 hours a night. I don’t always succeed, but what are goals for if we don’t try? Good post!
http://humanitarikim.wordpress.com/
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Thanks for your comment. Quality always betters quantity, eh. I’ll check out your blog soon.
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This was a very interesting post! Giraffes have it bad…1.9 and while standing up and they rest their head on their neck? Oh my… so sad..
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LOL. Hopefully the giraffes don’t see it that way.
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This is very interesting … I, too, feel best after 8 hours of good sleep. Good to think about, and maybe I won’t feel so bad when I don’t get enough sleep as I’d like!
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Love the giraffe picture!
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I’ve always wondered how we have come up with 8 hours, it sounds like an arbitrary number…just like 8 glasses of water a day…who gets to decide?
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You’re absolutely right. These ‘facts’ are just made up then portrayed as being absolute truth so we all believe it. I’m very dubious about the 8 glasses/pints/litres whatever of water we’re supposed to drink a day too.
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Cool facts. No wonder giraffes only sleep 2 hours a night. I get a crick in my neck and I’m only 6’2″. And 19.9 hours of sleep can’t possibly counted as “in one night.” I thought the number for cats would be higher though. Congrats on FP.
http://www.eduClaytion.com
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Yes, I thought the number for cats would be higher. But that’s stats for you, take them with a pinch of salt.
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I love your blog!
Cats only sleep 12 hours on average? I feel like my cats sleep way more than that!
Thanks, your post is interesting!
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Doubting cat figure myself now. Will have to investigate more. My cats hardly seem to be awake either.
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Yeah, it seems my cat sleeps 12 hours in the morning and 12 hours at night!
Cute post š
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Fun post. It almost makes me feel sloth-like with my need for eight hours.
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I am in for one heck of a long life…
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This is just what I needed to read today. I’m sleepless in California…two small children (my own) keep waking me up at night!
Cheers!
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Interesting post. I find the facts about the animals interesting, but the stats about humans, I’m a little skeptical of. It’s kind of like the facts about food like olive oil, one year it’s good for you, then it’s not, I think it’s all common sense. I don’t think we can all be put in one group some people need 6 hours sleep, some people need 10, it depends on you, and you should know your own body if you are aware…I don’t see why too much sleep would make you die earlier, though, but I’m not an EXPERT…
evelyngarone.com
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I’m not an expert either. I got the info from the survey summarised here:
http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Aging/4-02-03.htm
There must be loads of other factors involved, of which the amount of sleep is only one. Otherwise it doesn’t correlate to other mammals sleep/mortality patterns, and we’re not physiologically much different from them.
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Something I have never seen before is always welcome, thanks!
Horses only sleep 2-3 hours a night?? Wow.
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Did you guys know that sloth sleeps on average 19 hours a day, some sleeps up to 23 hours.
23 HOURS OF SLEEP A DAY!!
Don’t know what they are, click below:
http://cuteoverload.com/2010/11/08/sloth-delivery/
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Excellent link. They are the cutest aren’t they.
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personally, I’m an eight hour kind of sleep guy. Even when I get 6 hours of sleep I feel drousy throughout the day. Maybe it’s just me though. Anyway, interesting subject matter!
http://cheapsushi.wordpress.com
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Yea, I sleep between 5 to 7 hours at night. I hardly sleep up to 8 hours a day. lol! @ the camel twisting it’s neck to get some (short) sleep! š
http://gbengaawomodu.wordpress.com
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**giraffe**
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Fascinating! I shared this trivia with my coworkers.
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hey there, interesting post.
I think you should add koala bear to your list too, as they sleep a lot too ^_^
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The image of the giraffe is adorable…did you take it? You should be FP just for that!
Some nights, when I know I need to be up early, I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, and can get up to 8 hours of sleep. I am always surprised, however, when I wake up and feel groggy the rest of the day. Sometimes, 6 hours leaves me refreshed and ready to tackle my work load.
Great post! Congrats on FP!
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Rarely do I get a full 8, so this little bite of info is good for me!
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very very interesting. nice post and thanks for the fun facts
http://enjoibeing.wordpress.com/
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AWW CUTE picture š
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nearly 20 hours sleep a day, I like the sounds of that!
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seven it is š
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for some reason it doesnt surprise me that im closest to a pig…
http://dearexgirlfriend.com/
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We’re all closest to the pigs, we just deny it. Superiority race complex I think.
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HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!! We have a pig called Henry- he is just huge, and hairy, and has SERIOUS teeth…… but really craves affection. (We inherited him,so it was not by choice). I have grown fond of him, but then again- i don’t have to sleep with him. My knight would have him for Christmas Lunch in a second.
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[…] Sleep A Bit Less, Live A Bit Longer, Or So They Say (via ANIMAL) Posted on December 16, 2010 by ninjahilja Tired? Me too. I could do with a couple of extra hours sleep per night. Or could I? I've always found 8 and a 1/2 hours sleep to be the optimum, but a survey done a few years back by a couple of researchers in Japan revealed that people who sleep roughly 7 hours a night live longer than those who sleep more. They found that those who slept 8 hours a night had a "significantly higher mortality than those who slept 7 hours" with mortality risks inc … Read More […]
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Awww I like that.
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I dunno…I just read a post today by Julien Smith about why sleep is awesome.. His researchers said that 7-9 hours is ideal.
It’s not surprising that workaholic Japanese researchers would reveal findings that you should sleep less, and work more.
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mmmhm very interesting…i love my sleep i couldnt survive sleeping a horses sleeping time id go mad! š x
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Haha very cool. I’m sorry but to feel completely energized 8-10 hours of sleep is what i need. Call me a hedgehog I guess?..
http://danielandjamie.wordpress.com
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[…] https://animallamina.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/sleep-a-bit-less-live-a-bit-longer-or-so-they-say/ […]
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Very cute picture of the giraffe! I heard of another Japanese study that people who were slightly overweight (for size and age) lived 7 years longer than skinny people. So take that tidbit to lunch with you and have that dessert!
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Well that’s 7 years off my life then. Maybe I can sleep less to compensate š
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I see the cat but how many hours for the dog. In between sleeping all night and I don’t know how much more during the day it’s probably more than the cat. And I thought the cat would be more.
Just curious. Great blog!!
http://lifebehindthemakeupcounter.wordpress.com/
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It looks like 14 hours for a dog, which makes me suspect that the cat figure is incorrect because they definitely sleep more than dogs.
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i love sleeping so much! if i don’t have more than eight hours than i am a total zombie. maybe everyone is different with how much sleep they need…i wonder.
great post! i really enjoyed reading it.
p.s. loved the giraffe pic š
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So what does that mean when I sleep 5 or 6 hours a night during the week, but 9-12 on the weekends? I wonder if the average counts, or my mortality only goes up by 2/7ths? Very interesting, and congrats on being freshly pressed!
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Good bit of analysis. 2/7 increase in mortality is better than none I guess š
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I’m not getting the horses at 2.9 hours? That may be summertime. In the winter, mine go into sort of a hibernating state, like clockwork with the winter solstice. It starts with 12 hours and then gets longer with the diminishing daylight hours.
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Do horses sleep standing up too, like giraffes? I suspect those average sleep times I put in the blog are open to debate. Who knows where these stats originate.
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That’s interesting, about sleep time. I’ve wondered if you lose weight if you sleep under colder conditions. I mean, without too much cover, or heating. Your body should tend to work harder to keep you warm, as you’re burning more energy. Anyhow, I tend to sleep on average, not more than 7.5 hours, waking early, about 5.30 am, and getting up, at very least by 6 am. I sleep with very light cover, in the hot weather, no cover and a fan. Perhaps that is why I’m a light 120 -130 pounds, never ever crossed 140, even when feeding to extreme on ships or offshore rigs.
It seems to suggest sleeping under too warm conditions, shuts down your metabolic system, so you don’t lose weight like that. Anyhow, I’m 75 now, but have lost so much sleep on ships and drilling rigs, often going days with very little sleep, or none.
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I like that theory. The body certainly must use more energy to keep warm and hence burn off fat and keep you thin. You obviously prove that theory š Maybe we should get some Japanese scientists to research it.
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For years “they” said we needed eight hours of sleep. Then about seven or so years ago “they” discovered that actually we needed much more and that only 10 hours of slumber a night could stave off early mortality. Now “they” say we only need seven hours of sleep.
All this is making me tired. I’m going to take a nap.
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I don’t know who ‘they’ are either, but I suspect they are messing with our brains. Enjoy your nap.
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Shhh! I’m trying to sleep.
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Just before I saw your article on Freshly Pressed I was googling whether 6 hours of sleep a night was normal. I have been a night owl and I have been trying to normalize my sleep cycle. Lately I find that I naturally wake up without an alarm clock after 6 hours. I was wondering if that’s enough sleep. On nights when I try to get 8 hours sleep I end up oversleeping and more tired and zonked out than ever.
Thanks for this post….really interesting stuff š
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I’m not sure anyone really knows yet how much sleep is good enough and whether any amount is ‘normal’. Must be great being a night owl – everything would be so quiet š
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Eww! Interesting facts! Thanks for sharing!
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hehe.. i’m a goat and soon to evolve to elephant. better eat lots of pork.oink oink..
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giraffe???
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Squirrels are the best! If I had my way I’d sleep a good 15 hours a day too š
Thanks for the interesting post!
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They are cute aren’t they. And very sensible too sleeping 15 hours a day.
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This was super interesting and informative! Thanks for sharing! It also makes me feel better than I thrive when I get about 6 hours of sleep a night. More than 7.5 hours just makes me sleepy again.
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It’s funny. Half the comments on this post are from people who want more sleep (me included) and the other half from people who don’t need too much. I guess there’s no such thing as average.
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Nice post. Interesting
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That’s interesting, but what I would like to know is if they considered general health into this mixture. I went on a diet because of some stomach pain I was having. Besides completely taking away my stomach pain, I also started needing less sleep and was able to function for longer on less sleep. So maybe the people who are sleeping only seven hours a night have generally healthier eating habits.
Just a thought. Am considering reposting. (Sleep is always a good science fiction element. š )
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Oh, and apparently whoever made that list of yours doesn’t know my hamsters or dogs. Hamsters: Only 14.3 hours of sleep? And Dogs 10.6? I think my dogs are closer to… 20? š (Well, except the puppy, and we WANT her to sleep.)
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I suspect general health is a vital factor is in the sleep/mortality results. No idea whether they factored that in or not. A lot of research data is skewed to get interesting results I think.
How long DO hamsters sleep? Or should I ask, how long are they awake?
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[…] found this cute article about animal’s sleeping habits. It’s basically only cute because the […]
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Wow, didnĀ“t know that itĀ“s bad to sleep a bit more. Why is it bad to snooze just a hour more? Are there any biological reasons? If I sleep more wouldnĀ“t the cells regenerate a bit more and I feel a bit more rested?
Very interesting article.
Thanks for posting! ^^
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Can’t answer your questions, but I’d take the survey results with caution. Thanks for commenting.
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Eff that noise. If I could sleep for 50% of every day, I would. Good job, bats!
Oh, and congrats on being FP! š
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I agree, let’s hear it for the bats.
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I’m surprised most about the squirrels. I see and hear them scampering all over the place around here. To me, it looks and sounds like they NEVER sleep!
I’d say I get about as much sleep as a goat most nights; when I’m lucky, I sleep like a pig. And on the ocassional Saturday morning, just call me a hedgehog!
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I like your comment. The phases of sleep by animal.
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Come to think of it, the Japanese researchers make sense to claim that mortality risk rate increases with sleeping time. Afterall, humans are prone to stop breathing when we sleep. However, the title of this post, without reading through, I would have agreed with you fully. Sleeping less means freeing up more time in a day. That’s almost the same as saying we do live a bit longer, if we measure our lifespan by how much things we accomplished rather than by the minutes and seconds.
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Excellent observation. Of course, sleeping less DOES mean that in effect we live longer. I guess it depends on whether we differentiate between ‘living’ and ‘existing’. The title should have been – Sleep Less, Exist Longer – not so attractive now is it?
Thanks for your insightful comment. It made me think. š
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Your blog is adorable!
I am looking at my fish right now, and I would say, they don’t ever sleep!
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Interesting – how do fish sleep. Must look into that. I know that there are some fish, sharks I think, that have to move constantly to keep water flowing through their gills, but they must have some sort of sleep mechanism.
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I wish i could sleep a few hours a night!!! Imagine how much more we could do!!!!
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I want to be a cat, who sleeps 20h everyday.
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F* that. I’d rather sleep 10 hrs a night and die at 60 than be miserable. Although I’m sure I’ll never get more than 5 hrs now that my daughter is teething. Bitter.
Congrats on being fresh.
Please check out my blog.
Best,
Shanna
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The teething will come to an end, then it’ll be time for sleep again for you, I hope.
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Wow indeed an interesting post. š
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Very interesting factoids! I guess I don’t have to be so worried about the 6/7 hours I get per night š
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really interesting… very nice post. http://www.amfinancials.com. Thanks for sharing it.
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Great post , thanks for sharing ! Good luck
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Whats better? Being a bat or a giraffe?
I like sleeping. But giraffes seem to have much spare time. š
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Bat. And they look cute too š
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Yep! I understand this blog too! Great topic! š Cheryl
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Live longer, maybe, but according to new research, you won’t be as attractive. I’m so confused. Sleep more, wake up pretty, sleep less, wake up with a few more years added to my life but settle for not being “hot.” Who knows what to do? Interesting post, and thank you!
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Hahaha – live longer and be ugly. Not many of us would opt for that, at least not until the point when it’s too late for ‘looks’ anyway.
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[…] fƶr att jag pĆ„ nĆ„got sƤtt skulle vilja vara en giraff… men som man kan lƤsa HĆR sĆ„ behƶver de bara i genomsnitt Ā 1,9 timmars sƶmn per […]
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so……………. interesting
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[…] Giraffes sleeping 1.9 hours a day! […]
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loved this
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cute nice blog š
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[…] Tired? Me too. I could do with a couple of extra hours sleep per night. Or could I? I've always found 8 and a 1/2 hours sleep to be the optimum, but a survey done a few years back by a couple of researchers in Japan revealed that people who sleep roughly 7 hours a night live longer than those who sleep more. They found that those who slept 8 hours a night had a "significantly higher mortality than those who slept 7 hours" with mortality risks inc … Read More […]
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Very interesting!!
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I think the more you sleep the better, you feel better and you look better. They say sleep makes you more beautiful:)
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That means bats are beautiful š
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I think there was some research proving that if you regularly sleep 8+ hours your aging process is slower. So you you might live a shorter life but you will look better:)
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Nice post! Now I know in my previous life I must have been a Brown Bat!
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For me 4 hours is optimal. If the shorter sleep cycle seems to be catching up to me, I may take an occassional power nap with a heavy book in that wakes me when it drops to the floor.
I am also intrigued to learn that an elephant requires so little sleep yet manages to live for so many years.
Great post! Thanks for sharing.
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It has also been rumoured that every hour before midnight counts as 2. Hmmm….
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19.9 hours of sleep sounds like pure bliss to me!
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I think the cat’s sleep hours should be listed by “young cat” and “older cat” – like with any of my over 10 year-old cats, they sleep definitely 16+ hours per day and it only gets worse as they age.
I can’t say the same for humans… at least not any of the older folks I’ve known.
I think this research makes sense for me… I’ve come to realize that when I get over 8 hours of sleep, it makes me groggy and unmotivated and that could literally sleep the entire day. However, if I get 6-7 hours, I feel much better… less tired.
I can live on 4-5 hours of sleep, but not for more than 2 nights in a row or I CRASH on day 3… majorly.
I think our bodies do a fine job of dictating what we need… of course staying up late for some “me time” and then being forced to get up for a job the next day can mask what you’re body would prefer.
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Grr… leave it to me to write “you’re” when it is supposed to be “your” – which is the exact opposite of how most people mess that up. Doh. Apparently I did NOT get my optimal sleep last night! š
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Thanks for you’re comment. Your right, grammar goes out the window when your tired š
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that’s so cool! ^^ who knew sleeping less will let you live longer?! hmmm something good to think about.
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I’ve learnt something new today š thank you x
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I guess I’m a hedgehog! I find I do best with about 9-10 hrs of sleep a night. Very interesting!
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INTERESTING!
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I am blessed (yes, blessed) to be able to sleep until my eyes wake up. I find that to be usually between 8-9 hours. Of course, when it’s cold outside, it takes me longer. Sleep is a wonderful thing.
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definitely a post to consider. but i’m curious… what exactly are the risks associated with sleeping longer?
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animals really sleep that much ?
the pictures are cute .. i myself
love sleeping too :]
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cool web site you have btw
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[…] Texto sobre sono…. dos animais! Qual dorme mais do que nĆ³s, e menos? e a girafa? […]
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