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One unintended consequence of Covid19 related lockdown/work from home has been less commute and more hours to sleep. This is the most regular/high quality slee

• alessivs 6y ago
  > Experimenting with any non-monophasic sleep pattern sounds exhausting and I'm afraid could have serious health impacts I assume you speak for yourself. Biphasic sleep is not an abnormal occurrence and actually quite embedded in some non-anglo cultures (e.g. late afternoon opening times). Even when occurring naturally, it isn't extravagant to be aware of provisions so that nap time doesn't cause a naturally avoidable interference.[1] [1]: https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Best_time_for_napping https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Best_time_for_napping
  • corty 6y ago
    I would guess that biphasic sleep was killed by the common consumption of stimulant drugs like tea or coffee in western culture.
    • taeric 6y ago
      I would guess electric lights.
      • corty 6y ago
        That doesn't make sense to me, siesta wastes precious daylight. If anything, the availability of light at night should have promoted daytime sleep, if there was any influence.
        • nijaru 6y ago
          Growing up somewhere with a Mediterranean climate that has hot summers, I’ve always assumed it was to sleep through the heat before a/c was invented.
          • taeric 6y ago
            There is almost certainly something to this. Sun exposure is dangerous.
          • nradov 6y ago
            How can people sleep during the hottest part of the day? I've never been able to manage that.
            • eru 6y ago
              You can doze off. And falling asleep is a skill you can train. (I can nap in hotter and brighter conditions during the day than I can tolerate at night.)
        • taeric 6y ago
          Lights help extend the evening. Such that you sort of barrel through a time that would make you tired by just cranking up the light.
    • abeppu 6y ago
      That's an interesting guess -- I had read that biphasic sleep was common in the West prior to the industrial revolution, when work for long days away from home was common, and light began to be more available at night. Maybe the right kind of historian is around to answer: Was biphasic sleep also the norm in preindustral societies that had tea or coffee cultures relatively early?
    • ashtonkem 6y ago
      Depends which kind of biphasic you’re talking about. Afternoon naps were probably killed by stimulants. But the “first” and “second” sleep historically common were probably killed off by the electric light.
  • tom_mellior 6y ago
    > I assume you speak for yourself. Biphasic sleep is not an abnormal occurrence and actually quite embedded in some non-anglo cultures I think you misunderstood the parent, and your reaction seems a bit confrontational. Surely the parent wasn't suggesting that a good night's sleep plus an afternoon nap "sounds exhausting" and "could have serious health impacts". They were talking about patterns that do not include a good night's sleep.
    • alessivs 6y ago
      Ah, that's an understandable interpretation, but my response was not meant to be unnecessarily confrontational. If anything, the closing sentence was an admission that, while we seem wired to sleep mono or biphasically and maintain good health, a poorly executed second sleep block had the potential to compromise it, and that there were provisions that in my judgment were worth knowing.
• ashtonkem 6y ago
  Biphasic and triphasic are actually pretty normal, historically. Modern humans go to bed super late compared to our pre-electricity brethren; most people the world over would go to bed super early and have a “first” and “second” sleep, plus maybe an afternoon nap. You’ll notice this effect if you go camping. The moment the sun goes down you’ll crash much sooner than you would at home, and you might find yourself fully awake at 2am or so.
  • ghettoimp 6y ago
    > Biphasic and triphasic are actually pretty normal, historically. Is there evidence of this? I'm not doubting - I think I've seen this suggested before. I just don't know how people figured this out?
    • ashtonkem 6y ago
      Oh, there’s tons of evidence for this, largely in the writings of pre-electricity figures who clearly treated the subject as common knowledge. Advice manuals from the time even indicate that this was the best time for couples to conceive. Modern tribes without access to continuous light actually still sleep like this too, which is fascinating. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783
    • jabirali 6y ago
      Maybe check the references in this article? https://theconversation.com/did-we-used-to-have-two-sleeps-rather-than-one-should-we-again-57806 https://theconversation.com/did-we-used-to-have-two-sleeps-r...
    • samtheprogram 6y ago
      Anecdotally I remember reading that in Britain it used to be more common for some to wake up in the middle of the night and do light reading, but you’ll probably want to do some more research as I don’t recall the source.
    • kccqzy 6y ago
      Biphasic sleep is pretty common in Asian cultures. An afternoon nap is common in pre-schools and elementary schools, less common but still not non-existent in higher education and the workplace.
• m463 6y ago
  I can take a nap if I feel tired. Usually in the afternoon, which would have been impossible when in the office.