Everyone needs sleep. It allows us to recharge, relax, and stay happy and healthy. Without it, we tend to feel miserable, tired, and can even become sick. This is the exact same for animals like cats who seem to get a lot more of it than we do. They get to sit around and relax all day but it’s truly necessary for their health. This blog will reveal exactly why and how often cats need their beauty sleep!
How Often Do Cats Sleep?
Daily naps or long slumbers?
Cats get a lot of sleep, about 16 hours per day, but this amount can increase to about 20 if they’re especially tired or worn out from playtime. And unlike us, they like to have multiple long naps instead of one uninterrupted sleep during the night. This is because they have a certain type of sleep cycle that differs from humans which is called the crepuscular cycle. With this type of cycle, cats are able to have certain small bursts of energy, which then relax into a state of rest typically during the early morning and then in the evening. This means that they’ll often reach their 16 hours of sleep throughout the day when you’re out working, shopping, or at the gym.
According to an article from Sleep.org, cats were found to have slept anywhere from 12 to 18 hours a day with some, like older cats, even exceeding the 18-hour mark. They do this with their cat naps, which take about 50 to 113 minutes per rest. And with how often they’re sleeping per day, you may be thinking this would take over their night but that’s just where they thrive. Since cats have their crepuscular cycles, they’re technically programmed to be up during the late nights and the early mornings. And outdoor cats, tend to find the most active prey during the darkness so they’re always up and at em during those times!
So if your cat is sleeping in the average range then you’re all set!
How Cats Sleep
Do they have a similar experience as us?
Like us, cats go through different stages of sleep although their stages take less time since they don’t have a long continuous slumber like we do each and every night. According to an article from Sleep Foundation, cats go through stages of sleep like non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement sleep.
During their non-rapid eye movement stage, cats will wake up at any time, especially if or when disturbed. This would be like taking a slight power nap since you’d be lightly asleep and or ready to pounce at any particular moment of disruption. Then they go into their REM sleep which consists of possible dreaming and eye movement behind closed lids. Cats can get up to about 3-8 hours of a REM sleep cycle per day!
Summer Slumber
Do cats need more rest with the warmer weather?
As humans, after a long day outside, we tend to want to just sit inside in an air conditioned or shaded area to relax or even nap. This is the same for our smart feline friends. You don’t want to keep running around and working if it’s just going to make you hotter and sweat more. For cats, there’s no extra need to stay active either when they can plop down anywhere at any time for a quick rest. Reasons why they’ll want or need to sleep more in the hotter months include:
- Lowering body temperature. If your pet is getting too hot and or looks tired and worn out, a quick nap can allow their body to get back up to its normal, or even cooler, temperature. Putting your cat’s bed in a cozy shady spot of the house or even near a fan or air conditioner can quickly help with this as well!
- Relax after a hot day. Unlike us humans who can jump into the pool or go in the ocean after a long blazing hot summer day, cats don’t have this type of outlet to look forward to. So, they look to naps to make up for their long warm days! If you think it would help for them to go in the water after a hot day, just allow them to nap since water isn’t their expertise or place of enjoyment!
Cats need their sleep and a lot more of it than we do. To live their long nap and treat-filled lives, they’ll need to spend the majority of their days relaxing with their eyes shut. And in the summer with the heat, this can take up almost their entire day. Remember to make sure your cat has a nice shady or cooled-down spot to take their endless naps this summer! If only we had enough time in our daily lives to sleep that much am I right?
