This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Giraffes Only Sleep For Five Minutes At A Time

Plus other crazy sleep facts about your favourite animals.

Monday the 3rd of July kicks off National Sleep Awareness Week in Australia, and while most of us know the many and profound benefits of a good night sleep for humans, do you know much about the sleep habits of your favourite animals?

Take giraffes for example. You'll often find giraffes in captivity will sit down to snooze while wrapping their neck around to rest on their backs -- however giraffes in the wild do not have the luxury of taking a seat -- they sleep standing up so they can run from a predator at a moment's notice. Not only that, but they nap in five minute internals and only get about 20 minutes shut-eye all up each day.

Then you have bears, who on the other end of the scale get to sleep for a whole season! In fact, bears can give birth while they're hibernating. The cub knows how to nurse all while mum is fast asleep. Incredible.

For more cool animal sleep facts check out the below infographic.

Infographic by Sleepy People.

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