The Bedtime Scientist

A question

What happens when animals hibernate?

A calm, true answer. Then, if the wondering keeps going, the whole episode.

The short answer

The animal turns itself down. Hibernation is not ordinary sleep but a deeper state called torpor, where body temperature drops and everything slows in order to save energy.

A hibernating ground squirrel's heart can fall from hundreds of beats a minute to just a few. Bears live all winter on stored fat, some without eating or drinking for months. Winter is not something they sleep through so much as something they quietly wait out.

Go deeper tonight

Hibernation: The Science of Slowing Down

The full episode, in one calm voice, with nothing that startles.

The episode

Hibernation: The Science of Slowing Down

0:00 10:58
Sleep timer

Read the guide for this one in the morning.

This connects to

Rest Heat and energy

One idea turns up in many different nights. Follow one and the library starts to join up.