Sleep; who needs it? And who doesn’t? Isaac Asimov called it a waste of time, whereas John Lennon wrote one of his most mesmerizing songs in praise of it. My personal alliances are with Mr. Lennon, a warm bed to collapse into at night being one of life’s little pleasures for me. On the other hand, some people I know sleep as little as they can get away with, either due to personal preference ( a la Mr. Asimov) or the demands of their jobs. Adult humans might spend anywhere from a third to a mere sixth of their lives in dreamland. But what about our fellow mammals? Who are theAsimovs of the animal world, and who are the (to me, far more sensible) Lennons?

Giraffes – These are critters after Mr. Asimov’s own heart. Not only do they look like inhabitants of one of his more unusual worlds, they sleep less than the great man himself! In fact, they sleep less than anybody. They are the true Night Owls of the animal kingdom. They burn the midnight oil, are up with the roosters, catch the worm, etc. etc.; there’s not a cliche about sleeplessness these guys don’t have covered. For they get by on a mere ninety minutes of sleep per 24 hour period. And even that isn’t all at once. Because these giant creatures are such an obvious target, they have to be on the lookout for predators almost continuously. So, the same evolutionary process that endowed them with those crane-like necks also rigged it so that their sleep needs are met by little naps of between five and twenty minutes or so. The next time you’re on a safari, consider that the giraffe who’s picture you snap might be the reincarnation of some workaholic ancestor of yours who thought that sleep was for wimps.

Elephants never forget, and they rarely sleep. What keeps the largest and strongest land animal on earth up at night, I can’t imagine, but sleepless nights are the norm for pachyderms. Sleepless days, too. Rivaling the giraffe in terms of how little shuteye they require, our giant friends get by on around two or three hours of sleep per cycle. This is roughly the same amount as horses, who, like giraffes and elephants, sleep standing up. Rhinos get by on just a few hours too. They can nap standing up, but for their deep sleep periods they lie down.

How much sleep do our closest relatives (chimps, gorillas, orangutans) get a night, compared to our average of eight hours? Well, if you, like me, find sleep to be one of life’s treats, then you may think you’ve ended up on the wrong branch of the Tree of Life. Our genetic cousins generally get between twelve and thirteen hours of quality time with the sandman. Which makes one wonder, if it’s good enough for these guys, with whom we differ in less than ten percent of our DNA makeup, why isn’t it good enough for us, and are we really the smartest apes?

Hippos are hard to pin down. These giant mammals spend most of their lives underwater, and yet they breathe through nostrils (they are in fact said to be the closest living land animals to whales, who have evolved an entirely different breathing apparatus). They have been observed napping on land, but as for their underwater lives, how do they sleep without drowning? First, they make themselves airtight; they fold their ears over on themselves and close up their nostrils before sinking into the water. Then, while asleep, their bodies rise several times throughout a sleep period for more air. But is it a sleepwalker’s sleep, or is it more like getting up and going to the bathroom? If the former, then hippos seem to get about sixteen hours of sleep, far more than their fellow, earthbound, giants, the elephants.

Lions and Tigers and Bears – Oh, my! The living is easy at the top of the food chain! Anyone with a pet cat knows that their furry friends sleep like it’s a lifelong calling, and it’s no different for the big fellas. Lions average around fourteen to sixteen hours, with the lucky males sleeping up to twenty. Like all big cats, the females use tremendous amounts of energy when they are called upon for a hunt and kill. The male’s job is to protect the pride, which means he has less to do on the average day. He sleeps all that time because he can, basically. Same for tigers, and big cats in general. As for bears, they seem to have it even easier; they get to “sleep” a whole season! Technically, bears don’t really hibernate. Their metabolism doesn’t change radically from normal waking hours in comparison to true hibernators like squirrels. Scientists call what bears do “winter lethargy”, which means they basically just zone out during the cold months. Not a bad deal, right? When you’re a bear, you don’t even have to bother with Do Not Disturb signs.

The Platypus – Looking like it decided to go to a Halloween Party dressed as Darwin’s Missing Link, the platypus has puzzled and perplexed people ever since it was discovered. It seems to be going out of its way to be an oddball in nearly every respect, and sleep is no different. For one thing, playpuses are said to be the only mammal that doesn’t dream, at least not as indicated by the study of dreaming. They have the deep REM sleep associated with dreams (in fact, they rank first among mammals in this regard, up to eight hours, compared to two for the average human), but not the accompanying frontal lobe activity. On the other hand, not being platypuses themselves, can scientists really say for sure whether they can dream or not?  Which raises the question: if they dodream, can they possibly dream of anything more unusual than –  a platypus?

It seems almost unholy, or at least not wholly appropriate, to name the Sloth after one of The Seven Deadly Sins. Though long thought to be champion sleepers (up to eighteen hours a day) a recent study led by Dr. Neil Rattenborg reveals that these slow moving critters manage a mere ten, not that much more than a human. And this on a diet of leaves so poor in nutrition that they are forced to conduct their waking activities at an exceedingly slow pace. “Lazy”, indeed! They are just coping with their environment. Perhaps the true sloths are the folks who live on a diet of chips and suds when much healthier alternatives are readily available, but that might be taking us into Gluttony territory.

We come now to the Sultans of Somnolence, the champion sleepers of the mammal kingdom. I am tempted to give the award, with no further research necessary, to my own pet ferret, Rosie. Rosie not only sleeps more than ninety percent of her life, she has developed sleep into an art form. She can sleep in any position, from pretzel like contortions that make it impossible to discern how the body parts connect,  to stretched out like a bear rug. She can sleep just about anywhere, including my head (I have a picture of this if you want proof)! Furthermore, she seems to never tire of finding new places around the home to sleep, which means precautions must be taken before throwing anything away. In general, though, although ferrets certainly rank in the higher echelons of sleepdom (at sixteen to eighteen hours) they don’t get the blue ribbon. That honor goes to the little brown bat. These little guys get plenty of, er, “beauty” sleep (of the “eye of the beholder” type, it seems), managing a mere two to three hours of wakefulness per cycle. They have company; koalas and armadillos are animals with low metabolisms that sleep about twenty hours out of twenty four.

So there you have it. On a mammalian scale, we humans and our roughly eight hours end up pretty much smack dab in the middle. We share the world with creatures who make do on far less, and others who couldn’t imagine life without at least twice as much. So if you worry that you’re sleeping your life away, remember the lions and bears, kings of their realms, mostly dozing. And if you’re frazzled from too few hours in bed, remember the stately giraffe, ever alert, ever watchful, going through life with eyes wide open.

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AdLib
Admin

Vox Populi begins in 5 minutes! See you there: http://planetpov.com/live-events/vox-populi/

kesmarn
Admin

Do I have time to run to the bathroom?

boomer1949
Member

WTS,

Not only informative, but an absolute pleasure to read and your illustrations are wonderful. What a gift you have been blessed with. Have you ever thought about writing and/or illustrating books for children?

You forgot one species though — the human adolescent. Where, exactly, would one of these — male or female — fall in the sleep chain? Every parent of a teen would pay big bucks for your expertise on the subject.

Wonderful piece — thank you for sharing. 🙂

KQµårk 死神
Member

Whew! OK WTS this is what I ended up doing to keep the quality. First I tried to resize the image in your post but it looked too fuzzy. Probably because the editor does not resize images that well. So what I did was took the full res image you uploaded and shrunk it in my image editor to one third the size. Then when I uploaded that image I resized it to 600 pixels wide which is about the width of our columns on the planet but I linked it to your original high res image so if someone clicks on it the image will zoom to full size.

I hope this makes sense.

Chernynkaya
Member

KQ– first of all, ditto to what WTS said about you– you’re a real keeper!

Second– wow- his fantastic illustration looks amazing!! Kudos to you and BRAVO to WTS!

Questinia
Member

We women folk are loving Whatsie and KQ.

I’m also on pain meds!

Pepe Lepew
Member

This is a little awkward to write about, because it’s a little personal, but I have gotten a lot of ideas for stories from dreams, including a couple that got published.
I have what is apparently a somewhat rare ability to “control” my dreams — it’s called lucid dreaming. It’s like my brain sets up a ridiculous scenario and I’m supposed to figure out how to get through it. I know it’s a dream; I know it’s not real, and I just roll with it. Often times I’m either playing a character or I’m just following a character as an observer. I can’t do it all the time, maybe about half the time. I still have the recurring nightmares that I’m back in school and I haven’t done any reading or homework all year … or that I’ve moved into a new house or apartment that’s a complete dump…
I finally decided to incorporate lucid dreaming into a new story. One of the characters has the ability to control her dreams, and this leads to all sorts of complications ….

Chernynkaya
Member

I have those too, Pepe, but I didn’t realize they were lucid dreams. Like you, about 1/2 the time I know I am in a dream. Sometimes I like it, sometimes not. Once, because I knew I was dreaming, I stopped it and immediately wished I hadn’t once I awoke, because I sensed I was about to conquer something but chickened out.

And I wonder if it’s hereditary, because my son used to do the same thing when he was little. He used to have the typical dream where a monster was chasing him. After several of these, he consciously decided he would stop running from the monster and confront it. He reported to me that when he did that, the monster ate him. Oh, well.

Questinia
Member

I think if you can control your dreams, you can control your reality better. People who are prone to nightmares, from PTSD for instance, as they get better have more control in their dreams. It may make sense that the obverse is true.

Chernynkaya
Member

Funny, I don’t feel in control of anything! But then, I’m not really trying. But seriously, what you say makes perfect sense. I do think that once we feel we have a modicum of control, we have fewer terrible nightmares.

Questinia
Member

Well, you have the enviable ability to fall asleep on a dime!

I love the fact that your son reports the monster ate him! It would be interesting to see whether that changes as he gets older.

Chernynkaya
Member

😀 Oh, he’s thirty now, and has different monsters.But we still tell each other our dreams. And I loved that the monster ate him too– so opposite of fairy tales! When he was about six, he drew a picture of one of his dreams– not very flattering to me as a mom, but he dreamed I had a radio that played nightmares, and I could turn them on at a whim. 😥

Khirad
Member

Ouch!

Chernynkaya
Member

Ouch indeed, Khirad! I still deny I was Mommy Dearest! And my son and I are very close. but, yeah, OUCH!

kesmarn
Admin

Hey, when my daughter was four, she got mad at me and said: “You know what? You’re the type of person who never should have had children.” (She was a very verbal four year old.)
Talk about a knife being plunged right into your aorta…

kesmarn
Admin

Pepe, what a valuable skill–lucid dreaming. Apparently you’re really connected to your subconscious. I’d love to read your story about the woman who could control her dreams.

Those school dreams are one of the most universal, aren’t they? For years after I graduated, I still had the classic anxiety dream of having forgotten that I had registered for a class at the beginning of the semester, then remembering during finals week that I had neglected to attend a single class, or even to buy the textbook. Yet, somehow I was expected to take the final. Terrifying.

Now, rarely I have a dream that it’s nearly the end of my shift at work and I have not been able to see one or more of my patients AT ALL for the whole eight hours. Equally terrifying, in a Cheney/Bush healthcare kinda way.

The house or apartment dream is familiar, too. In my case, I’ve purchased (lord knows how) some gigantic old mansion and, after having lived in it for quite a while, I realize that there are whole wings of it that I never knew existed. I explore and explore and there always seem to be more rooms to discover.

That’s a really fun one.

Chernynkaya
Member

Kesmarn, that mansion dream — where you have more unexplored rooms–is easily interpreted isn’t it? I never had that one, but it’s a real gem!

I have had numerous exam dreams though! And last week my teenage daughter told me she dreamed she was naked on the bus– another classic I’ve never had.

javaz
Member

What is the interpretation of dreams that take place in foreign, huge houses, do you know?
I have them a lot and some times I’m exploring the same house and they are fun dreams.
And I’ve had the naked dreams, too, where I’m at school or work, and talking to someone and then I notice that I’m naked and am so embarrassed. Funny thing about them dreams, though, is that no one else seems to notice that I’m naked!

Chernynkaya
Member

See above, Javaz. 🙂 I think those mansion dreams are important and wonderful!

kesmarn
Admin

Cher, I feel like an idiot, but–no–I don’t know what the mansion dream means! Tell! tell!

Chernynkaya
Member

LOL– OK, the way I see it, you are that mansion, and you are exploring new and undiscovered aspects of yourself, looking deeper into your being. It’s a wonderful dream!

kesmarn
Admin

I think I like that!

Khirad
Member

What is it about the bus? I’ve had that classic one.

kesmarn
Admin

I think it must be the combination of a captive audience for the involuntary stripper and minimal opportunities for escape! The perfect storm of embarrassment.

Chernynkaya
Member

I think you got it– if we’re going to deal with embarrassment, I guess we make it as embarrassing as we can stand.

BigDogMom
Member
BigDogMom

When I do sleep and dream, like you, I’m always am in a old house or building that has many rooms, the rooms seem to be all connected and go on forever.

Probably because I notice details in real life, the rooms always have dark wood trim and ornate fireplace mantels and I seem to always searching for something or trying to find places that I can hide.

It reminds me of that movie of the house that never stopped growing, it was a 70’s horror flick can’t remember the movies name, but it was based on a book.

Last night, I had one of these dreams, when I did finally fall asleep…wound up in a lovely old bathroom hiding from a man who I didn’t want to find me. Stupid me, left the bathroom and moved to hide in the adjoining closet…that’s when he spotted me.

Then I woke up…

kesmarn
Admin

BDM, I got a phone call, so it took forever for me to get back to your post.

Your dream sounds very similar to mine. I don’t recall having the “scary pursuit” factor in any of mine, but I don’t often remember my dreams very clearly.

In the other details it’s very much like, though. Isn’t it strange how there seem to be such consistencies in the human brain–that a fair number of us actually have similar dreams?

And, thank goodness, we always seem to wake up right before that tsunami wave crashes or the bad guy in the mansion catches us!

Khirad
Member

Is it really abnormal to still occasionally have cold sweat dreams that I’m still in high school or got held back, or do I have seriously unresolved issues?

And yeah, I know what Pepe is talking about too. I’ve done that, when I’m not having a colorful, stylized, vivid dream. It’s not deep sleep, it’s when I feel I’m sorta conscious, actively aware it’s a dream, but when I wake up I realize I was asleep, maybe not deepest REM, but definitely under.

kesmarn
Admin

Khirad, when you’re back in high school in the dream, are you the age that you are now? Because—that is the worst!! You get word when you’re already well launched in your career that, due to a technical error, your transcript is incomplete and it is essential that you go back and do a re-do on Chemistry. So you have to return to your alma mater as a full grown adult and sit next to the 15 year olds to get your last %$#&%$ credit.

Apparently we both have seriously unresolved issues.

;o)

Chernynkaya
Member

Yep, you’re psychotic. 😆

I still have those high-school dreams rarely, so I am psychotic too. And of course you have unresolved issues! Who doesn’t?

kesmarn
Admin

Cher, not only psycho, but “evil” too, in my case. Or so I’ve been told, on good authority!!

😆

Chernynkaya
Member

Yes, and with all my heart, I hope you can laugh about that soon, since it is hysterically ludicrous. If you are evil, I am either the anti-Christ or a black hole of heavy, imploding evil.

Seriously, I am so sorry she said that, but you must know it only speaks to how disturbed she is. It stung, I know– but a sting is not a wound, right?

kesmarn
Admin

Cher, just the thought that you and others didn’t buy it is somehow so comforting that the sting is already gone. That’s when the comedy aspect of it all kicks in, and for that I thank you.

Khirad, in case you’re wondering what the heck we’re talking about, this is in reference to a remark my sister made to me–namely, that I am eeeeeevillll…! We talked about this last night, hence the reference.

Chernynkaya
Member

Kes, as soon as I read that she called you evil, coffee almost came out of my nose in a spit-take!

Khirad
Member

I am the anti-christ, the black hole of heavy imploding evil…

Ever thought of writing Black Metal lyrics? That was bruutal! 🙂

Thanks for the heads up kesmarn. It’s good to be kept in the loop. As if I don’t sometimes feel I’m losing it already – hehe!

kesmarn
Admin

See? That proves it…you almost burned your nose because of evil me.

I really am kidding, now!! All better!

Chernynkaya
Member

Whatsthatsound, what a fun article! Nobody writes about sleep even though it is such a big part of our lives! I really enjoyed this–thanks.

OK, I have always been a champion sleeper– or a champion slacker, depending on your point of view. But I alternate between loving that I sleep so well and hating that I need so much. I have one friend who literally needs fewer that 4-5 hours consistently– damn him! He seems to get so much more done.

But other friends envy me my ability to sleep in airports, on planes–anywhere I want, especially if I am bored. I once slept all the way from LA to Israel, with only a short semi-awake state in New York to refuel. Ditto LA to Thailand, when I only opened my eyes at Narita in Japan for an hour. That’s about 22 hours!

Plus, I am a big dreamer– every night, to the point when I get up, I am almost exhausted from my dreams. (And apparently, I talk in my sleep and laugh, says my husband. He says he’s constantly startled awake by one of my somnambulist declarations.) Just last night, he claims I said, very loudly, “I’M Mrs. Johnson! Thank you…” (I am really NOT Mrs. Johnson.)

kesmarn
Admin

You make it look easy, WTS! The article writing, I mean. Such intriguing research, so smoothly, elegantly written, and with such a light touch of good humor. Perfect.

On the issue of dreams: you have to wonder what purpose they serve? For humans as well as animals? Are they therapeutic in any way for critters, as they seem to be for us?

Anyone ever have the more-or-less classic dreams? Ever face a gigantic tsunami-type wave roaring at you while you sleep? Or have the experience of trying to drive an unsteerable car downhill with apparently no brakes? Or suddenly discover that you had the ability to fly–seemingly just discovered it–after a lifetime of not realizing you could? Gotta wonder what all that means!

BigDogMom
Member
BigDogMom

“To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there’s the rub.”

Hamlet (III, i, 65-68)

WTS wonderful article….I am jealous of all those who can sleep, my days of 8 hrs. of restful sleep I fear are lost forever for me….ah, to be like the lion, tiger or ferret!

I seem of late to be in the Giraffe and Elephant category…Oh, wo is me.

abby4ever
Guest

Bowerbirds! I know why you love them, WTS. We saw a BBC special about two months ago on these wonderful creatures. The nests! They are huge and the males spend weeks and weeks building them and then decorating them. To attract a female.

What camera work!

Well, this one male bowerbird had put the usual stuff on his nest: berries, twigs, leaves, dead flowers, the occasional candy wrapper left by some hiker. He was just finishing up when he spotted one of those tiny Coke cans that you see in shops, they hold about 3 oz of Coke, and he got it in his beak and then dragged it over and put it right on top of the huge nest he had spent weeks building.

Kind of like a baker putting the bride and groom on top of a ten-layer wedding cake.

And when you see the females fly in, to inspect the nests… yikes their fussy!!!… and they reject one, you feel so sorry for that male bowerbird who went to all that work all for nothing, that you could just break down and cry.

Khirad
Member

I still can’t get over Lyre Birds:

Chernynkaya
Member

Oh, Abs, I feel exactly the same! I feel so sad for those poor guys. That’s Darwin for ya though, right? I wonder if elaborate and fancy nest building translates into being a good provider of bugs though.

Also, as much as I love the sounds of birds, I can’t stand putting one in a cage. I have a neighbor who has a lovebird–whom she really loves and talks to a coos to all day. But I feel so sorry for that little bird, never able to fly. Oh no, there I go!

Khirad
Member

My views on the matter?

Le sommeil est plein de miracles!
Sleep is filled with miracles!

– Baudelaire, “R

KQµårk 死神
Member

Loved Dogma one of my faves and great reference.

Khirad
Member

OT, but one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history:

KQµårk 死神
Member

Classic. Like the late great George Carlin said “I was Catholic until the age of reason”.

I watched “Canadian Bacon” today which was not a great satire like Dr. Strangelove but it had it’s moments. I don’t know if you remember it but the movie was based on going to war with Canada after the fall of the Soviet block. The one part that tickled me was mention of breaking the Helm’s amendment which was an amendment that the US could not go to war with Caucasian peoples.

Khirad
Member

Canadian Bacon was also prescient in many ways, no? Also, I never tire of Canadian humor, the Canuck-phobic John Candy was a nice touch. I also giggled uncontrollably about the guy at the Canada desk.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Yes it was. Got to keep that MIC going after all.

Me too. I went to school in upstate NY right across the lake from Toronto so we got their TV stations. It was actually pretty funny because then SCTV and the McKenzie brothers were at the height of their popularity. But alas I’m an anglophile above all.

If you liked Dogma you have to catch the series Father Ted sometimes. It’s actually done by a group of Irish actors and the creator was Irish but it was a brilliant parody of the Catholic church. I probably told you about he series before but I won’t let up until someone else on the Planet sees it as well.

abby4ever
Guest

We watch Father Ted whenever it’s on, usually with friends and some popcorn and lager.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Awesome another Father Ted fan.

We liked it so much we bought it on DVD when it became available in America.

abby4ever
Guest

KQ: I just left you something on the Time Out For OT thread, about the Father Ted thing…

Khirad
Member

One too many a summer trip as a kid to Victoria and Vancouver for me. Got Canadian TV when visiting my grandma too. My dad says growing up (where Beck did too, ugh) he became more familiar with hockey and even curling than most other Americans. Said their news was often better, even back then.

I’ve meant to watch Father Ted, watched bits of it, but never all the way through. Got it mixed up with one poking fun of Anglicans, too, I think?

I’m an anglophile above all else too, except when it comes to being a celtophile, that is. It’s a term I have issues with at times, hehe. 😉

Chernynkaya
Member

From my own experience, you’re right, Khirad. I’m a dreamy, lazy artist. But, my hair grows faster than those who sleep less, and I look younger– better cellular repair. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 🙂

abby4ever
Guest

To what’sthatsound: you finally published it! And it was worth waiting for, for the research you did that so informs us about these creatures, and for the humor too.

Well done, what’s.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Ditto the research and effort wts has done to create this article is not lost on me either. One page of a well researched article usually takes 10-50 pages of research depending on the subject and luck.

Khirad
Member

The research was not lost on me either. Tangent, when I was in preschool, always shy, we were to imitate our favorite animals. I stayed silent. When the teacher goaded me, I simply said I was a giraffe. I know realize I am nothing like a giraffe, though lanky!

KQµårk 死神
Member

Hell your articles on Iran alone must have taken hours and hours. I’ve been lazy lately but after I get my new pacemaker/ICD I promise to write some deeper articles if all goes well.

Pepe Lepew
Member

I know of some trolls on HP that only appear to get two or three hours of sleep a day! 🙂

escribacat
Member

What a delightful article, WTS. Of course, I think you should put greyhounds in there. Greyhounds sleep about 20 to 22 hours a day. They can sleep curled up or on their backs with their legs straight up in the air — this is known as the “dead cockroach.” They also often sleep with their eyes open. They often dream, scrabbling around with their feet and making little yipping noises. They also fart in their sleep. The most amazing thing about them is, they ALWAYS wake up cheerful and happy.

Kalima
Admin

LOL! Add snoring and your greyhounds sound just like my cats.

escribacat
Member

Greyhounds are known as the most cat-like dogs. They don’t run around the house and don’t (or rarely) bark. Mostly they just lie around. They even “purr,” but it’s called chittering. They chitter their teeth when they’re excited. They also do that huffing thing that horses do (that lip flapping thing).

Pepe Lepew
Member

Italian greyhounds are *very* catlike!

escribacat
Member

Yes, they are extremely dainty.

Kalima
Admin

Like my cats do when they see the sparrows outside, such a strange sound, never fails to make me laugh.

When they are awake, mine hardly stop chasing around the house. I call it “The Mad 30 Minutes.” Shall we swap a few?

KQµårk 死神
Member

Our Arthur is the big snorer.

Kalima
Admin

Many years ago we had four Siamese that slept in our bed, used our pillows and hogged the bed. Hubby had 2 on his side, I had 2 on mine. In the dead of night, they all started to snore and suddenly we had stereo, it was hard to sleep but we never tried to wake them up, that was left to out little Abyssinian, who would pop up from under the bedclothes to bite their tails. When I think about it now I have to laugh, it was a madhouse but somehow we managed to sleep. eventually.

KQµårk 死神
Member

😆 I would love to have heard that. Penny is part Abyssinian. There are such a friendly attentive breed.

Penny always sleeps by my feet and Arthur has his own makeshift bed of the corner of our bed that is on top of a storage box covered with his favorite blanket. He watches out for us at night.

Kalima
Admin

I adore Abyssinians, we’ve had 4 and now only 12 year old Coco is left. They are incredibly friendly, she greets everyone who comes into the house. If I could have just one wish, it would be to eat a peaceful meal by myself, it’s never going to happen.

I had no idea that Penny was part Abyssinian, maybe it is her colour, what a delight. You are never alone with an Abys! 🙂

Pepe Lepew
Member

I’ve often wondered what’s going on with dogs when they make whimpering noises in their sleep or when cats are chattering. I’ve woken my dog up a couple of times because it sounded like he was having a nightmare.

Khirad
Member

I always imagined my dog was happily flushing a bird or something, with all the whimpering, and sometimes her legs would move, as if she were running in her dream.

escribacat
Member

I’ve done that too. They seem distressed sometimes!

KQµårk 死神
Member

WTS a truly fascinating article. Probably the most interesting aspect I learned from it is how evolutionary development obviously plays a factor in how many hours a mammal sleeps. The fact that a platypus is the only mammal that does not dream really shows how they are a sub-mammal but I hope I did not offend their feelings too much.

I can’t believe some cities, states and even countries ban ferret as pets. I had no idea and had no idea they slept so much.

I’ve heard people go even further like my wife who says she does not like to sleep because it reminds her of death. Of course then the argument becomes when were you dead but obviously it’s academic. I am someone who hates to go to sleep early and am a true night owl for as long as I could remember but when I finally get to sleep I hate to wake up. I use to live of on 5-6 hours of sleep a night (of course I would make some up on weekends) but my body now dictates that I must bet 8-10 hours.

abby4ever
Guest

“Of course then the argument becomes when were you dead but obviously it

KQµårk 死神
Member

I laughed when she first said it too. I’ve actually been clinically dead and can’t answer that question. No going to the white light or OBE, no nothing.

abby4ever
Guest

I didn’t know and of course didn’t mean to laugh at something that serious. It was the sentence itself (the way it was worded) plus I thought you were making a little joke.

KQµårk 死神
Member

I was not offended at all I laughed when my wife first said that but obviously my attempt at gallows humor failed again. I know many people don’t understand my cavalier attitude towards death but having dealt with the possibility as much as I have humor is the best defense but really my ultimate fate does not phase me anymore.

abby4ever
Guest

KQ: It didn’t fail, if I laughed. And I did!

I’m still a little gun-shy about being misunderstood in posts. One of the first things I learned about blogging is how easily a person can be misunderstood in a post. It’s because, obviously, we can’t see each other’s faces, eyes, body language. All of which, when you can see it, helps others to know the meaning (and intention) of your words. E.g. sometimes our words are taken for sarcasm, when they are not meant that way, other times when we mean them that way, no one gets it …because they didn’t see us roll our eyes when we said it. Ha!

A while ago I was going to do a little article (not for Planet) on all this and use the term ‘blogophobia’ and define it this way: ‘the tendency of bloggers to read too much into the content of someone’s post, a kind of paranoia peculiar to the blogging world, that is to some extent unavoidable…’ and then add stuff about how our not being physically present so that people can see us when we speak, is what makes it unavoidable.

Anyway, you know all this, you are experienced. Me, I am just learning.

abby

Pepe Lepew
Member

I once had a doctor tell me I “ought to be dead.”

KQµårk 死神
Member

Fortunately doctors are just flawed humans like the rest of us.

Khirad
Member

There’s been studies, I believe (you would know better), that us night owls are not morally destitute, lazy, or whatever, but that it’s genetic. Also, I feel anything but dead, sometimes I feel more alive in dreams, as vivid as they are, than the humdrum of daily life.

KQµårk 死神
Member

I totally agree with you about dreams. I can’t tell you how much they helped me come up with creative ideas in my research as well. The chemist Kekule came up with the structure of benzene in a dream.

I always loved having visions of molecules dancing in my head.

The only time I did not like my dreams was when I faced cancer and first had to deal with my own mortality and for a couple of years I had guilt driven dreams when I had to stop working.