An Eye-Opening Look at Animal Sleeping Behaviors

The hoot of an owl deep in the night, the brushing of a hamster wheel spinning, your cat getting the zoomies at 8:00PM, the dog sleeping on the couch… All animals, including us people, have unique sleep cycles. On a basic level, these categories can help us understand our pets’ natural needs. Diving deeper, the varying sleep/awake habits are a huge aspect in animal evolution as well.

There are three general categories for awake and sleep behaviors in animals: nocturnal, diurnal, and crepuscular. Natural sleep patterns are fun and fascinating to learn about as we grow our understanding of our pet companions.

Nocturnal

Nocturnal animals are awake and active throughout the night, spending most of the day resting and sleeping. Often, these night animals have large eyes adapted for better vision in the dark and they will rely more on sounds, smells, and touch for communication. Animals like owls, bats, hamsters, rats, hedgehogs, mice, sugar gliders, and chinchillas are all nocturnal animals.

Diurnal

Diurnal animals are awake and active during the day, spending most of the night resting and sleeping. We operate on a diurnal schedule, although I know some of us would rather be nocturnal! Diurnal animals communicate with sounds, smells, and touch as well, but will rely on body language and visual cues more than a nocturnal animal. Animals like cows, sheep, squirrels, dogs, guinea pigs, and gerbils are all diurnal animals.

Crepuscular

Crepuscular animals are a bit of an in-between. Crepuscular animals will have active awake time during dawn, the early morning hours around sunrise, and dusk, the hours around sunset. They will rest and sleep in the middle of the day and in the middle of the night. Deer, rabbits, ferrets and cats are all crepuscular animals. Surprise! Your cats are sleeping in the dead of night. Cats are often lumped into the nocturnal category since we hear them as we start to fall asleep, at 3:00AM, and are waiting as soon as we get up for breakfast – but it is really the natural pattern to be most active at dusk and dawn.

Learning about sleep patterns can also aid in pet retention and finding the right match. These categories give us a general understanding of our pet’s natural patterns, but there is still flexibility within their true behaviors. We see our diurnal friends napping often during the day – what a life! But there are still dedicated diurnal animals, like livestock guardian dogs that are alert and working throughout the night too.

Many of our nocturnal and crepuscular pets adjust their sleep cycles to socialize with their pet guardians, especially as the human-animal bond increases. Nocturnal natured pets like rats, chinchillas, and hamsters still have times where they are active and enjoy playing, socializing, and snacking during the day with their pet guardian. Mice are categorized as nocturnal, but our pet mice seem to party all day!  

Crepuscular animals, like ferrets and cats, are often active during true day hours if we are home and active ourselves.