The 5 Animals That Sleep the Most
There are animals which need to sleep up to 24 hours a day, this is most likely due to the type of food the species eats, which forces them to save energy.
Sleeping animal photos posted on social media are some of the most viewed in the virtual world. It’s as if we are drawn to sleepy animals. Did you know that some animals can sleep up to 22 hours a day? Would you like to know which ones they are? Let’s find out which animals sleep the most.
Which animals sleep the most?
Koalas
Koalas are the ultimate sleepier and therefore deserve to be placed first on the list. The koala – – featured in the image at the top of this article – – is originally from Australia and can sleep up to 22 hours a day. They spend most of their time in a tree and only come down when the temperature drops.
For example, in the summer they look for taller trees with enough leaves to shelter them, regardless if they are edible or not. When winter comes, they need shorter leafier trees to protect them from the cold. This is because the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature will be.
Here’s an interesting fact: koalas do not sleep out of necessity, they do it out of pleasure. That’s why they get grumpy when they are woken up. Now do you see why they are the number one sleeping animal on the list?
Sloths
Who is better than the sloth to take second place on the list? They are capable of sleeping 20 hours a day! Unlike the koala, the sloth lives in the same tree until it comes down to do its business – – which it buries – – and then it looks for another tree. It does this once a month.
Despite his name, the sloth is a very hardworking animal. The reason why he is slow is because he has a very limited amount of energy. Thus, he stores energy for whenever he needs it. That’s why sloths are capable of attacking as fast as a cat when in danger. His sleep hours are totally justifiable due to his need to store energy.
Armadillos
This strange animal is originally from Central and South America. It’s shell cover his entire body, including his legs, tail and ears. It comes in third place on the list due to sleeping for 19 hours daily.
The hours of sleep it gets are justifiable due to the weight it carries during the day. Its shell can weigh up to an exhausting estimated three times more than its body. No wonder it sleeps so much! Can you imagine what it would be like to carrying triple your body weight around for five hours a day? Wow!
Opossums
This marsupial ties the armadillo for third place, because it also needs about 19 hours of sleep. Despite its size and agility in trees, on the ground it walks awkward and slow. So most of its time – – whether asleep or awake – – is spent in trees.
Lemurs
Finally, from 19 hours we go to 16 hours a day, which is what the lemur needs to stay active for the rest of the day. They say in order to use your time wisely you have to divide the day into three 8-hour parts, but lemurs don’t like that method. They prefer to divide the day in two parts: a double portion for sleeping, and the other for eating and doing other things.
They are originally from Madagascar, lemurs are known as the smallest primates. It may be due to island tropical heat that has them sleep so much. However, living and jumping from one tree to another sure can be tiresome.
These are the five sleepiest animals in the world. Hopefully, this article has not made you sleep and you found it to be interesting… goodnight!