Stages Of Sleep In Cats
The fame of sloths that rests on our adorable kittens is nothing new. In fact, cats love to nap and can sleep between 14 and 20 hours a day. But they don’t sleep so much just for fun, but because their bodies need many hours of rest to preserve their good health.
Beyond knowing that kittens really value their moments of relaxation, there are many owners’ doubts regarding the sleep of cats. Do cats dream? How is the dream of the kittens? Can Cats Sleep Soundly Like Humans?
Next, we’ll talk about the stages of sleep in cats to help you answer some of these questions and get to know your feline better.
What are the sleep stages in cats?
As with humans, sleep in cats is divided into stages. Two main stages of sleep are recorded in kittens: REM and non-REM, although there are numerous variations within each of these stages.
The REM stage usually shows intense eye movement, which characterizes a lighter sleep state. Already in the non-REM phase, the body enters a state of deep sleep, which leads to an intense reduction in neuronal and sensory activity.
A cat can spend up to 75% of its life sleeping, and about 60% of this period is reduced to the REM phase. The remaining 40% is equivalent to so-called ‘deep sleep’ (non-REM), so kittens are capable of sleeping soundly.
However, these percentages can vary significantly depending on the organism, age, routine and environment of each kitten. Older cats, for example, tend to spend less time in the deep sleep phase, and it is that this can represent only 25% of their rest.
REM and Non-REM Phases in Cats
The REM phase implies a significant decrease in the cat’s physical activity. When entering it, the brain ‘orders’ that the large muscles that allow the movements of its legs to rest.
However, this command is not always activated throughout the animal’s sleep. For this reason, cats can move, throw ‘kicks’ in the air and even turn while they sleep. And this happens by sleeping day or night.
In the REM phase, neural activity is not yet so significantly reduced, so the kitten can be alert to its surroundings. When perceiving any strange or sudden stimulus, the cat can react quickly to preserve its well-being.
On average, it can take humans about 90 minutes to enter a state of deep sleep. Cats are capable of reaching the non-REM phase in just 25 to 30 minutes. And this despite the fact that they are able to move between the stages of sleep more easily than people.
When a cat enters the non-REM phase, movements are very infrequent, since it is a state of deep rest. As its organism is very vulnerable in deep sleep, the feline will seek a refuge where it feels safe to ‘turn off’ for a few moments.
But do cats dream?
Many owners wonder if their cats are capable of dreaming, especially when they observe them making movements or making sounds while they sleep. And the answer is that yes, cats dream and, apparently, their dreamlike neuronal activity is quite similar to that of human beings.
Most dreams happen while the animal is in the REM phase, in which neural activity is even more intense. However, cats can also dream while sleeping soundly, contrary to what was believed a few years ago.
While they are in a lighter sleep, the dreams of the cats are summed up in memories of their day, like a kind of compilation of routine images. Therefore, they can show reactions very similar to those they usually have while they are awake and experiencing certain stimuli.
However, as you enter deep sleep, your dream experiences become more complex and less objective or realistic. This occurs because your body needs to significantly reduce neuronal activity to save energy, stabilize your metabolism, and restore your immune system.
We still have a lot to discover about the dreams of cats in the non-REM stage. It is not possible to specify what cats dream about while they sleep soundly, but it is estimated that their dreams are longer at this stage and could involve memories of experiences lived weeks, months and even years ago.
