Hibernation may hold important clues on how to slow down ageing processes

When the cold and dark winter is setting in, some of us envy animals that can hibernate. This long, deep rest is an example of how nature develops clever solution to difficult problems. In this case, how to survive a long, cold and dark period without much food and water.

But hibernation has closer links to human history than you might expect.

An article in a copy of the British Medical Journal from 1900 describes a strange human dormancy-like hibernation called “lotska” that was common among farmers in Pskov, Russia. In this area, food was so scarce during the winter that the problem was solved by sleeping through the dark part of the year.

Once a day people woke up to eat a piece of bread and drink a glass of water. After the simple meal, they went back to sleep and family members then took turns keeping the fire alive. You will also find descriptions in Inuit Greenlandic stories of a prolonged hibernation-like sleep during the long dark winter months. In parts of Greenland it is dark from November to the end of January.

There is a study from 2020 which suggests the ancient ancestors of man, called hominins, may have been able to hibernate 400,000 years ago....

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