Who Sleeps More: You or These Adorable Animals?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average human adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep every night. How do our sleep habits compare to these infinitely cuter mammals?
依据国家睡眠基金会，一个普通成年人每天晚上需要7-9小时的睡眠。我们的睡眠习惯和这些无敌可爱的哺乳动物比起来是怎样的不同呢？
by CLAIRE NOWAK
Cats——15 hours
On average, cats spend around 15 hours a day sleeping, and they do not want to be disturbed when they snooze. But every cat is different. Those sleep times can range from 12 to 16 hours. Large wild cats also snooze most of the day away. Male lions may even sleep a full 24 hours after a large meal.
一般来说，猫咪们每天大约花费15小时用来睡觉，而且它们可不希望在打盹的时候被打扰。但每一只猫都是不同的，睡眠的时间也从12到16小时不等。大型野猫也会把一天中的大多数时间眯过去。雄狮可能会在一顿大餐过后睡足整整24个小时。
Hedgehogs—10 hours
Hedgehogs typically get 10 hours of sleep every day, and since they’re nocturnal, they have opposite sleeping schedules from humans. Hedgehog owners can wake up their pets to play during the day, but the little guys usually get grumpy and curl up into a ball.
刺猬通常每天获得10个小时的睡眠，因为它们是夜行动物，所以有着和人类完全相反的睡眠时间表。刺猬的主人可以在白天唤醒他们的宠物一起玩耍，不过这些小家伙通常会发脾气然后卷成一个球。
语言点
- curl up 卷起；蜷缩
- opposite ... from 与什么相反；对立
Giraffe—about 2 hours
There’s debate about how long giraffes actually sleep, but it’s between one and five hours a day. They can sleep standing up with their necks down and heads resting on their back. Like humans, they have an REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle, but in order to reach that, they need to lie down with their legs tucked under their bodies.
关于长颈鹿每天真正睡多久仍有争议，不过应该在每天1到5小时之间。它们可以站着睡觉，把脖子垂下来，然后头枕到它们的背上。像人类一样，他们有着REM（快速眼球运动）周期，但为了达到这种状态，它们需要侧躺，把腿压在身子的下面。
语言点
tuck v.打摺；卷起；收拢；藏起
Chimpanzees—9 hours
Chimpanzees sleep between eight and nine hours in their nests, located high up in tree canopies, and they’re very picky about finding the best materials for those nests. An eye-opening 2014 study found that 70 percent of chimps in a Ugandan wildlife reserve used branches from the same tree—sturdy Ugandan ironwood—even though that species made up less than 10 percent of the trees in that area.
猩猩会在它们的巢穴里睡8到9个小时，这些巢穴位于高高的树檐之上，而且它们对寻找建造这些巢穴的最好的材料可挑剔着呢。一项令人大开眼界的发现一个乌干达保护区内70%的猩猩使用来自同一种树的枝干——坚固的乌干达铁木——尽管这一种树在该区域的树木组成中只占用低于10%的比例。
Chinchillas—13 hours
Chinchillas are nocturnal, but don’t be surprised if they look awake during the day. They sleep with their eyes open. They’re also known to be light sleepers. In the wild, chinchillas sleep in crevices or burrows so predators don’t spot them.
龙猫是夜行动物，但是如果看到它们白天醒着，也不用惊讶。因为它们是睁着眼睛睡觉的。它们也是出了名的浅睡眠者。在野外，龙猫睡在墙缝或地洞中，因此捕食者不会发现他们。
Sheep—4 hours
Sheep typically spend about 15 percent of their day sleeping, which adds up to less than four hours. Their odd sleep habits probably came from their ancestors that needed to stay awake to avoid getting attacked by predators. Another interesting sheep fact: they used to cut the White House lawn.
绵羊通常花费它们一天中15%的时间用于睡眠，总计小于四小时。它们奇怪的睡眠习惯可能来自它们的需要保持清醒以避免遭到捕食者攻击的祖先。另一个关于绵羊的有趣事实：它们可以被用来修剪白宫的草坪哦。
Rabbits—8 hours
Rabbits sleep around eight hours. Although they mostly sleep during the day, they’re not nocturnal either. They’re crepuscular, which means they’re most active at dusk and dawn. These are the best times for them to find food since it’s hard for predators to spot them in the low light. Wild rabbits even have special places for sleeping in the tunnels they live in underground, also called warrens.
兔子大约睡八个小时。虽然它们白天大多数时间都在睡觉，但它们并不是夜行动物。它们是“拂晓黄昏”型的，这也意味着它们最活跃的时间是清晨和傍晚。因为在这种低照明条件下捕食者很难发现它们，所以这是它们最好的觅食时间。在它们生活的地下隧道中，野兔们甚至还有特殊的用于睡觉的地方，也被叫做“兔屋”。
语言点
crepuscular 拂晓的；黄昏的；即dusk and dawn。
Horses—3 hours
Like sheep, horses evolved from a species that was preyed on in open fields, so they don’t need much time to sleep either. This is also why they sleep standing up, even though scientists may believe horses need to lie down to enter a deep sleep.
像绵羊一样，马是从一种在暴露的野外环境中被捕食的物种进化而来的，所以它们也不需要太多时间睡觉。这也是为什么它们站着睡觉，即使科学家可能认为马需要躺下进入深度睡眠。
Dogs—Between 12 and 14 hours
Dogs can sleep anywhere from 10-14 hours, although 12-14 is considered average for adult dogs. Puppies can need as much as 18-20 hours of sleep because they use so much energy running around all day. Canine sleep habits vary between breeds, but any dog that seems to sleep all the time may need a trip to the vet.
狗的睡眠时间可以是10到14小时中的任何一个，尽管成年狗狗的睡眠时间普遍被认为在12-14小时之间。小狗可能需要多达18-20小时的睡眠，因为它们整天用很多的能量四出乱跑。不同品种的犬类睡眠时间也不尽相同，但是任何一只似乎总是在睡觉的狗就可能需要去看一趟兽医了。
Squirrel—15 hours
Nighttime habits differ for different types of squirrels (who, by the way, are probably smarter than you). Tree squirrels sleep in dens in the side of trees, while ground squirrels dig theirs underground. When ground squirrels hibernate in the winter, they are only awake for 12 to 20 hours each week.
不同种类的松鼠（顺便一提，这家伙可能比你聪明哦）有着不同的夜间习惯。树松鼠睡在树上的窝里，而地松鼠挖它们的地洞。当地松鼠过冬时，它们一周只有12-20小时是醒着的。
Seals—6 hours
As creatures of land and sea, seals can sleep pretty much anywhere in their habitat. Rocks and beaches often serve as seal beds, but they are also able to sleep floating upright and even underwater. A study from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks found that while elephant seals sleep, they let themselves sink in a way that resembles leaves falling from a tree. One possible explanation? They sleep with half of their brains awake.
因为既是陆地生物又是海洋生物，海豹在不同的栖息地能睡出各种不同的时间。岩石和沙滩经常作为海豹的床，但它们也有可能直立着睡觉，甚至在水下睡觉。一项来自Alaska-Fairbanks大学的研究显示，海象在睡觉时，它们使自己以一种如同叶子从树上落下的方式下沉。这是为什么呢？一种可能的解释是它们睡觉时有一半的大脑是清醒的。
Elephants—4 hours
In total, elephants sleep about four to five hours during a 24-hour period, but their bedtime is actually split into chunks throughout the day. They can sleep lying down or resting against tree trunks and termite mounds. Elephants in herds take turns sleeping while the others keep watch for trouble.
总而言之，大象每24个小时睡四到五个小时，但它们的睡眠时间事实上被分成了若干块，遍布一整天。它们可以躺着，或者靠着树干和白蚁丘睡觉。象群中的大象轮流睡觉，其它成员则保持警戒。
注：
termite mounds 白蚁丘
（来源于网络）白蚁是很优秀的工程师，能够建造超过10米高、底部15米宽的蚁丘。蚁丘能够调节内部的温度和空气条件，这里也是它们孕育后代的家。
白蚁丘
