Normally when someone is thinking about hibernation, they usually see it as an extended form of sleep, and while this isn’t 100% wrong, there is so much more to the hibernation that animals do than simply sleep! In this article, we’ll cover the reason animals hibernate and the benefits it provides.
Fundamentally, hibernation is for energy conservation during times when food is hardly available, such as winter times. For these animals when they hibernate, their metabolism, heartbeat, and breathing slows significantly. On top of that, their body temperatures drop as well, sometimes even below freezing point!
The reason this is necessary stems from animals being either exothermic or endothermic, more commonly known as “cold blooded” or “warm blooded”. Exothermic creatures such as lizards rely on outside sources to gain heat, such as the sun. Meanwhile, endothermic creatures such as bears can generate their own heat, however require food and nutrients to do so. Because of this, by setting their body temperature lower and slowing body processes, these animals can reach this state of balance with a lot less energy than when awake and can stay in this hibernating state for weeks and weeks.
We hope you found this information of why animals hibernate interesting and extended your knowledge! At Fox Mattress, we craft all our mattresses right here in the USA, so you know you have a premium mattress to sleep on. Give us a call or visit our Holly Hills location to learn more about our premium offerings today!