Researchers have found that "power naps" can help garden dormice, who are born late in the season, to catch up with their earlier-born peers and get ready for hibernation.
The recent study also found a connection between higher body temperatures and aging, Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien reported.
During hibernation, mice enter into a state of "torpor" to save energy and water by decreasing their metabolic rate and lowering their blood temperature. The technique helps keep animals alive when food supply is limited.
To make their findings, researchers looked at two groups of juvenile dormice born late in the season; one group was able to feed freely while the other fasted on alternate days. They observed that the fasting dormice exhibited significantly higher use of torpor, allowing them to accumulate greater fat reserves.
"The longer an animal stays in torpor, the more energy it saves," said study leader Sylvain Giroud.
Researchers measured torpor by employing temperature loggers placed in the animals' nests; these tools detected the sharp drops in body temperature that occurred during torpor.
"Torpor was only viewed as a means to save energy and water, but during the last decade other functions have emerged. These include promoting growth during early life and fattening prior to hibernation, as well as slowing ageing processes," Giroud said.
The findings also revealed that the individuals with higher body temperatures had a slower process of aging.
"Our data indicate that the main effects of hibernation on ageing processes are linked to euthermic episodes which are associated with the shortening of telomeres, an indicator of ageing," the researchers concluded.
In the future, researchers hope to compare late-born and early-born dormice, as those born earlier in the season are believed to use less torpor. They also plan on looking at impact of lower growth rates (as a result of less torpor) in hopes of gaining insight into the link between pre-hibernation fattening and aging.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
