Animals That Sleep the Most

About This Dataset

How many hours a day different animals spend asleep, on average. The koala tops the list at up to 22 hours - conserving energy on its low-nutrient eucalyptus diet - while humans need only about 8. Figures are approximate.

✨ AI Insight

The koala (≈22 hours) sleeps more than almost any other animal, an adaptation to its energy-poor eucalyptus diet that leaves little fuel for activity. Close behind, the sloth (≈20 hours in captivity) and little brown bat (19.9 hours) share the same strategy of extreme rest to conserve energy. Ambush predators and reptiles also feature heavily: the python (18 hours) and even the tiger (15.8 hours) sleep far more than grazing prey animals, which must stay alert and spend most of the day feeding. Humans (≈8 hours) sit near the low end of the mammal range. The pattern reflects a clear trade-off - animals sleep most when their diet is poor or their hunting is done in short bursts, and least when survival demands near-constant vigilance or foraging.

Source: BBC Science Focus / references

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Koala leads with 22 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 17 · median: 18.

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Gap in All Time: Koala is 2.8× larger than Human.