Ask Dr. Pecos


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Ask Dr. Pecos

During his days as an Instructor at the FVZA Academy, Dr. Pecos enjoyed nothing more than answering questions from students. Retirement did little to dim that passion. Collected here are actual questions that Dr. Pecos fielded and answered in the years before he passed away. Though Dr. Pecos is gone, we will continue to do our best to answer any queries you may have. New questions and answers will be posted periodically; old questions and answers are archived below.

Question(s):
I’m sure this is a silly question with an obvious answer, but I’ve been trying to answer it myself to no avail: If vampires’ circadian rhythms are reversed, how do they sleep? Their lairs are described as being dark and completely closed off, but wouldn’t that cause problems with their sleeping pattern like in blind people? Do they use artificial light to sleep? Thanks in advance!

—Marie, Lucedale, Miss.

Even in darkened spaces like this abandoned subway station,
vampires are extremely sensitive to subtle changes in light.
(Photo by Marie Curie)

A: Good question. Unlike blind people, vampires can still see the sky and its varying light levels while out hunting. Being more sensitive to light than we are, they can easily tell the difference between dusk, night, midnight, morning, dawn and everything in between to help guide their wake and sleep cycles. Plus, the act of feeding further aids their ability to sleep by acting as a narcotic after an equally tiring night of hunting.

It's also not uncommon for vampires to sleep several days at a time when they need to lay low for a while, and even just the slightest hint of sunlight anywhere near their lairs is enough to reset a confused sleep pattern.

Their tested and proven ability to distinguish natural and artificial light isn't well understood, but UV light appears much brighter and harsher to them than other light sources — an important adaptation for a nocturnal species with an allergy to sunlight. This isn't an unusual characteristic, as many other animal species, including cats and dogs, can perceive ultraviolet rays as well.

—Robert Lomax, FVZA

Question Archives:

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Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX

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