![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/nap_painting_jan_verhas_wiki.jpg)
20 November 2022
Last week as I walked past a team of Allegheny Goatscape goats munching invasive plants in Schenley Park, I noticed a sign that described their sleep cycles. The goats, who are guarded by a donkey, sleep 5 hours in a 24-hour day. The donkey sleeps only 3 hours. Imagine being able to function normally on so little sleep!
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/goats_at_frick_20200828_101735_rsz_kms.jpg)
Some animals sleep less than we do, some sleep more.
We humans, who average 8 hours per day, are well aware of our pets’ sleep cycles. Cats sleep 12 hours a day (so do mice!). When this man gets up his cat will curl up in the warm spot and go back to sleep.
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/man_and_cat_sleeping_wiki.jpg)
Adopted greyhounds are champions at sleeping 18 hours a day.
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/greyhound-sleeping-wiki.jpg)
Brown bats have one of the longest sleep cycles at almost 20 hours (19.9 hours per day according to this table).
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mammals_little_brown_bat_wind_cave_wiki.jpg)
Birds are in the middle, sleeping 10-12 hours a day, but their sleep is highly variable by species, place and season, especially in the Arctic where a summer “day” can be 24 hours long.
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/sleeping-duck-wiki.jpg)
Guppies sleep slightly less than humans at 7 hours a day.
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/fish_guppies_wiki-1024x730.jpg)
And giraffes win the prize for the least sleep at only 1.9 hours a day!
![](https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mammals_giraffe_gray_wiki.jpg)
Did you get enough sleep last night? No? Then it’s time for a nap!
For more information see:
- Why do some animals need so little sleep? Science Magazine: Forty Winks in the Wild
- Table: How much do various animals sleep? from Prof Chudler at Univ of Washington
- Article on Sleep in Animals at Wikipedia.
(photos from Wikimedia Commons except where indicated; click on the captions to see the originals)