A: Cows (like horses) can only get deep (REM and non-REM) sleep whilst lying down and not whilst standing up, but they can ‘doze’ whilst standing up. They will lie down to sleep several times within a 24hr period and sleep for short stretches at a time before either sitting back up or getting back on their feet to start eating once more. This is called ‘polyphasic’ sleeping. In total they sleep for between 2-5hrs within a 24hr period.
