How do centaurs sleep?

[Spider]

I've been wondering about this for a while now. Do centaurs sleep while standing? If so it must be really uncomfortable. I certainly can't imagine them lying down.

You know, I would never want to be a centaur now. Well, other than the extra height just so that I could tower over my older brother and say, "HA!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

If you ever played Golden Axe II: Return of Death-Adder, one character is a kentauride (female centaur). She actaully sleeps lying down.

Yeah, it's a video game, but characters still sleep between levels. There's a mini-game that has the party robbed by gnomes while resting. You can hit them to make them drop potions and food, possibly ending up with more than what was stolen from you.

I have the game at home. If I remember, maybe I can paste an image of the centaur at rest.

 

[Motley]

I always pictured them lying down with the horse part and their upper body resting forward on some soft platform. Picture a person lying on their arms with their head down on a desk.

If they sleep standing up like many horses, perhaps the upper body could be supported on some sort of hammock?

 

[Addison]

I have seen both horses sleeping and man sleeping in the wild. As it's a fantasy, if the centaur has a village they could have beds of some kind which will allow them to sleep while lying down. But from what I've seen of horses they can sleep very well either laying down or standing up.

But I can't fall asleep sitting up. But as far as centaurs go, if they're in your story, it's up to you.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Since it's on the internet, it's OBVIOUSLY true...

How Horses Sleep

I imagine centaurs sleep in much similar ways to horses, having similar physical characteristics.

 

[Steerpike]

Since they're made up creatures, they sleep however you want them to sleep.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I have seen both horses sleeping and man sleeping in the wild. As it's a fantasy, if the centaur has a village they could have beds of some kind which will allow them to sleep while lying down. But from what I've seen of horses they can sleep very well either laying down or standing up.

But I can't fall asleep sitting up. But as far as centaurs go, if they're in your story, it's up to you.

My writing partner sleeps sitting up. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, but she does it about halfway through every night. If she's lying down, she'll also stick her legs straight up in the air!

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Since they're made up creatures, they sleep however you want them to sleep.

I like making science explain as much of my fantasy as possible, but then again, my dad DID worship Carl Sagan.

 

[Steerpike]

I like making science explain as much of my fantasy as possible, but then again, my dad DID worship Carl Sagan.

Yes. I think that's a valid choice for an author to make, though I wonder if there is any reason to necessarily apply real-world scientific principles of horses to centaurs. You can do it, of course, and it makes sense, but you could also develop alternate scientific explanations for doing it differently.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Since it's on the internet, it's OBVIOUSLY true...

How Horses Sleep

I imagine centaurs sleep in much similar ways to horses, having similar physical characteristics.

Yeah, that's how the centaur girl from the game sleeps. I mean the way the horse legs are folded. Apparently, the artist knew how horses actually sleep when he designed the character.

 

[Spider]

Thanks guys. I guess when I said I can't imagine them lying down, I meant on their back. I think I get it now.
@Lowan your writing partner is weird! Haha

 

[SeverinR]

Not sure if they would be able to roll like horses do, but they could sleep on their side.
Of course, horses roll to scratch their back alot times, and a centaur would be able to scratch most of their back with their human arms.
I think there is a Centaur anatomy post in "research". They skeletal and muscular systems illustrated I believe.

http://mythicscribes.com/forums/research/8801-centaur-anatomy.html

 

[SeverinR]

How do centaurs sleep?
Don't ask, don't tell.