Weather in the Tries:
I have a new electric blanket. Not sure who loves it more—Sammy or me! He does sleep on top much of the night, but he starts out snuggled to me. Oh, you want the weather? ‘Scuse me. It’s mostly going to be in the high 40s and low 50s. With the lows from 31 to 46. In other words, good sleepin’ weather.
Do Humans Hibernate?
In a word, no. Our ancestors from way back when, may have but there really isn’t any evolutionary reason why we should. There’s a very interesting article on human hibernation here. All quotes in this post are from the article.
Hibernation, or prolonged torpor are not, as of yet, beneficial for humans for several reasons, including:
Isn’t conducive to reproduction.
If we aren’t reproducing, competitor species are.
If your snoozing in deep torpor, you can’t defend yourself.
But since I’ve retired, I’ve noticed something. I live slightly south and somewhat east of Seattle. We are above the 45thParallel. Once the Fall Equinox passes, our nights get longer, our days get shorter. Noticeably. Not like Canada and Alaska. The closer you live to the equator, the more your days and nights are likely to be about 12 hours light, 12 hours dark. When I lived in Florida, as I recall it was 11/13 then when we went to Daylight savings time it was about 12/12. Or maybe the reverse. I’m old. So is my memory. I have blackout curtains in my bedroom and keep my bedroom as dark as possible. Unfortunately, there are a couple of things that need to be plugged in, and they throw out a mild amount of light, but not enough to disrupt my sleep. So, I get very little light coming in from outside.
In the summer, I get about two hours less sleep than I do in the winter. Around the Fall and Spring Equinoxes, my sleep adjusts about an hour. I go to bed at the same time most nights, and turn my light off about the same time each night. But still I get about 2 hours more sleep at night in the winter than in the summer, in a blacked out room. I know I’m an old fartess, perhaps I’m closer to my ancestors than I thought? Oh, I don’t open my windows in the summer, either. The wind blows the blackout curtains and lets the light in,.
But–what if we could hibernate? Possible torpor/hibernation may increase our resilience during transplant surgery, with some additional medical uses, but what grabbed me was the possible uses in space exploration:
- “cut down on the use of life support and other resources
- reduce water and food intake by up to 75%
- reduce waste production
- protect against radiation
- ease psychological concerns associated with long-term space flight”
Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that pose problems in people coming out of torpor. Apparently it isn’t just as simple as waking up from a long nap. Possible problems include “blood clots, bleeding, infections, and fatty liver & liver failure.”
But, it seems I’m off to a start. Wonder if I can volunteer for their study….Be paid to sleep…..
Photo of the Week:
Yes, the snowflakes were about the size of a silver dollar. The snow lasted a couple hours then disappeared.
From the Paws of the Desert Chihuahua:
My human made me go out this morning IN THE RAIN! We live in a desert, why is it raining? Water belongs in a dish, not outside falling on humans and dogs and ducks. Shouldn’t fall on cats, either. Doesn’t she know I dislike rain? It’s cold and painful when it hits my furs. I don’t have any fat like other dogs do. But I sure like her new blanket.
‘In the not-so-distant past, a form of human hibernation might have been more common than thought. Graham Robb, in his book The Discovery of France, describes it as a physical and economic necessity in remote parts of rural France. He writes that lowering the metabolic rate would have prevented hunger that might result from exhausting supplies. He quotes an observer from as late as 1908 saying that, in winter, the peasants “pass their lives asleep, corked up like snails”’
— “New Scientist,” 11/19/22
Love the description. “corked up like snails.”
Some good comments, and thoughts, Thank you.