When animals hibernate, do they dream? The simple answer is no. Hibernation is not the same as sleep.
Sleep is a more active physiological state, while hibernation requires animals (like the hedgehog mentioned earlier) to greatly reduce all activity in order to conserve energy.
During hibernation, animals decrease their breathing rate, lower their body temperature, and reduce their metabolic rate to about 5% of normal levels. Due to the minimal brain activity during hibernation, animals do not dream.
There is, however, one exception—the fat-tailed lemur. Being the only primates that hibernate, scientists have observed periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in them.
This article addresses the question “Do animals dream during hibernation?” (asked by Jess Sillett of Talkie).
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
