The Hibernating Brain
Rea,
Welcome to your first letter of 2025 and your first day back to school. You might have a harder time waking up and getting back into school-mode today. Your brain might feel all fuzzy and slow, like it’s still half-asleep. But this is actually a sign that it’s working the way it’s supposed to. In fact, there’s a remarkable animal that shows us exactly why this slow start might be a good thing.
In the Arctic, where winter temperatures can plunge to -40°F (so cold that a cup of hot water thrown in the air would freeze before hitting the ground!), there’s a remarkable animal that has found an incredible way to survive. The Arctic Ground Squirrel spends almost eight months of the year - from August all the way to April - in a state of deep hibernation. That’s like sleeping from the first day of school until spring break!
During this time, these squirrels do something almost unbelievable - they let their body temperature drop below freezing, and their brain completely shuts down. In fact, they’re the only warm-blooded animal known to survive with body temperature below freezing! Scientists studying these squirrels discovered something amazing: during this deep sleep, their brains aren’t just resting - they’re actually growing new connections!
When spring finally arrives and it’s time to wake up, these squirrels don’t just bounce out of bed ready to go. It takes them several hours to “reboot” their brains. During this time, they might seem slow and confused, but something incredible is happening - their brains are organizing all those new connections made during hibernation, preparing them to be even more alert and capable than before.
Your brain does something similar during breaks. While you’re relaxing, playing, or even sleeping in late, your brain is busy processing everything you’ve learned and making new connections. And just like the Arctic Ground Squirrel, when it’s time to start up again, your brain needs time to “reboot” and organize all those connections.
It’s remarkable how nature finds ways to adapt to even the harshest conditions. In a place so cold that most creatures couldn’t survive a single night, these squirrels have evolved to not just survive, but to use their long winter sleep to grow stronger and smarter. So the next time you’re feeling a bit “nervecited” and fuzzy-headed on the first day back to school, remember the Arctic Ground Squirrel. That slow, sleepy feeling isn’t a sign that something’s wrong - it might just be your brain finishing up its important work of growing stronger and smarter!
Love, Abba
