Why do Zombies Slumber?

[EeRie]

Ok the other day I read Simon Pegg's "The dead and the quick" article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/no ... g-dead-set) With some great arguments for slow zombies “as monsters from the id” and “Zombies are our destiny writ large. Slow and steady in their approach, weak, clumsy, often absurd, the zombie relentlessly closes in, unstoppable" death. But biologically/ scientifically is there any reason they couldn’t be fast? I mean do they get tired? do they sleep? Now I’m sure this has been debated over and over in these forums so I must admit my main purpose for this post was simply to share a spoken word I ran across the other day that discuses such things that I found to be an interesting take on the subject.

http://ramdriveway.com/zombie/Why_Zombie_Slumber.mp3

[Giacomo]

Well it could be that they're slowed down by rigormortis, decaying muscles, no blood flowing from the heart to the legs which would prevent the muscles from keeping up with the stress of running, or them lacking the coordination of running. Personally, I like to think it's because of the serial killer effect, like Jason from FT13 or Mike Myers (Halloween not Austin Powers) where no matter how far or fast you run the killer is always there close enough that you have to keep running but far enough that you're terrified that he'll eventually catch up so it kinda messes with your head. So fast zombies mean you're caught, torn apart and eaten bada bing bada boom done and over with. Where as the slow zombies are creeping towards you and it seems like no matter how many you take down they just keep coming, almost like a slow agonizing death. I just don't understand where the slumber part came from.

[Jamie]

Are you asking why zombies lumber (shuffle/shamble/walk slowly), or why they slumber (sleep)...I was a little unclear while reading your OP, but will answer both questions TTBOMA...

I think zombies lumber along because the muscles and neurotransmitters are in decay, and can't function efficiently...also because the very idea of fast zombies make fat/slow guys like me sad .

I don't think that zombies do slumber...I think that until their brain is destroyed, they will continue to hunt and hunger after my tasty brains...

Jamie

[EeRie]

Are you asking why zombies lumber (shuffle/shamble/walk slowly), or why they slumber (sleep)...
Jamie

I was asking both question... I edited the post to be a bit more clear... also.

we it seems at least in some movie they do go in to a state of "sleep" I can think of a few zombie flix where they are just laying about and some noise "wake them " up and after you they come like the zombies in the church in 28 days later.

[Dranj]

I think zombies lumber along because the muscles and neurotransmitters are in decay, and can't function efficiently...
Jamie

I think both questions can probably be answered with the neurotransmitters. One of the reasons humans have to sleep is to restore neurotransmitters. If there is a lack of a specific neurotransmitter that is released to make muscles contract, then the muscles will take longer to contract. This is because the electrical charge that is sent through the muscles is generated by opening ion gates in the muscle. Neurotransmitters are the key to opening those gates. The fewer gates that are opened, the longer it will take to generate the electrical charge to make the muscle contract, resulting in a slower movement. A sleep-like state would allow zombies to restore the neurotransmitters, but due to the probable decay and the lack of a true sleep, there would likely be a lower amount of neurotransmitters than necessary. I imagine that would create a lumbering movement.

[Cranium]

There are no zombies in 28 days. The people in that film are infected with the rage virus. They are not dead just really pissed off. That is why they starve to death at the end of the film. So the people sleeping in the church are just that, people sleeping.

I don't think zombies would sleep. I think they would just stop moving and wait in ambush if they could not detect a local meal. Like many predators they could simply be waiting for an external stimuli to react to. Like a spider or snake waiting for it's prey to come to them, just in this case it's some unfortunate person coming by.

[Raktus]

Do Zombies slumber? Perhaps, I do wonder what all those zombies were doing at the begining of Day of the Dead. As I recall they were just sitting around with their eyes closed...

[mk_ultra]

Do Zombies dream of Electric Sheep ?