The definition of hibernation is the act of an animal’s metabolic rate decreasing and until now not been demonstrated in bears. Brian Barnes' team has demonstrated that during hibernation, bears decrease their metabolic rate by 75 percent from their summer levels and their body temperature is lowered by about 6 degrees. Bears don't eat or drink for 7 months. All they need is air to survive during their hibernation period.
They can even have their heart stop for 20 seconds as they hold their breath for up to a minute. These are new findings for bears hibernating in natural conditions. Despite months of inactivity, bears are not subject to bone or muscle loss.
Understanding the molecular signals and reproducing it by way of drugs could have great benefits for human health. The main idea is that it would benefit coma patients greatly. They wouldn’t have to regain their muscle mass back and work to gain strength as severely as they do now.