Did You Know?

A snail can sleep for more than three years at a time

Snails go to sleep while the weather is very cold. They bury themselves and close up the entrance to their shell with a door of slime. This hardens into a tough skin that keeps predators out leaving  a tiny hole to allow air in. Some snails that live in the desert have been known to remain in their shells for two or three years. They might be among the slowest and most laid-back of creatures, but even snails need to nap on occasion.

Researchers observed that, if you want to know if the snails were sleeping rather than simply resting,  it depends on how quickly they respond to applied stimuli such as being tapped on the shell, being prodded by a metal rod or being introduced to food. Sure enough, active snails respond twice as quickly to physical stimulation and seven times faster to appetite simulation than the snails that appeared to be resting.

Does this mean that snails also dream? Wonder what a snail might dream about.

Source: Mother Nature Network