SLEEP PATTERNS OF 5 RODENT SPECIES

Electrographic and behavioral observations were made on five rodent species under controlled conditions. These were: Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, Mesocricetus auratus, Citellus tridecemlineatus and Chinchilla laniger. Normative values for sleep characteristics of the five species were derived from 48 hr recording periods. Analysis of sleep pattern characteristics showed: (1) well defined stages of slow wave sleep and paradoxical sleep in all animals; (2) sleep occupied from 52-60 per cent of each day for the different species; (3) different species differed in percentage of paradoxical sleep ranging from 10 per cent for the mouse to 24 per cent for hamsters and ground squirrels; (4) hibernators slept in significantly longer periods, had higher percentages of paradoxical sleep and slightly higher percentages of total sleep time. Hibernators also seemed to sleep more deeply than non-hibernators. © 1969.