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Published online 5 January 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1344
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'Mini-hibernation' essential for winter survival
A daily dose of torpor helps desert-dwelling marsupials make it through chilly nights.
A dormant state called torpor could be as important as hibernation in helping small mammals to survive cold winters.
Many small animals are known to rely on torpor, a state somewhere between sleep and full-blown hibernation in which the animals' body temperature drops significantly.
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Ah ha, scientific backing for my need for a nap after lunch, despite not being a marsupial, at last!