3 ms·

I don't think there is anything natural about such a rigid "circadian rhythm". Its a leftover from feudal / agricultural society where you had to get up to do

I don't think there is anything natural about such a rigid "circadian rhythm". Its a leftover from feudal / agricultural society where you had to get up to do different things on the farm _all day_ until you where so tired you crashed and slept for 8 hours. Nothing natural in that. I totally agree that "getting up early" can have its benefits, and so can an uninterrupted 7 hours - but the body is built to get up in the middle of the night, do stuff, then go back to bed, get up again, scavenge, build, talk to someone, then take a nap with your family/tribe etc. As long as you follow the inner rhythm, and can zone-out and relax, you are probably most healthy going through various states multiple times a day, from intense focus, to alert, to way more relaxed than anyone are today. This is in stark contrast to the toxically over-caffeinated over exerted extremely long days where you never really go through any different "mindstates" but just "plough through" until you crash - and then think that you need 8 hours and to get up early - no you only need that because you are abusing your body. Also you are missing out on so many states that make life worth living, ie the liminal hypnagogic state, the absolutely magical hypnopompic state, wonderful actual alpha-brain relaxation etc. This is also why people become sad, superficial, loose connection to the magic of existence and ultimately become sociopaths constantly seeking superficial hits because they have no space or time for the liminal states.

hnracer 6y ago
How did you arrive at this opinion? Are there studies that compare a polyphasic sleep schedule to a fixed sleep shield that you've come across? I am mostly polyphasic because of insomnia and have been for many years so I'm interested in reading more about it
joveian 6y ago
While I haven't done extensive historical research on sleep habits, the limited history that I have read makes me doubt your assertion. I think being up for a bit during the night and siesta are both things that can potentially happen while keeping a healthy circadian rhythm, but I don't think they are necessary for a healthy circadian rhythm. My impression is that siesta is a very common human practice with a boiological basis, but I'm not convinced that the same is the case with being awake for a while at night. I suspect the human body can adapt to many different schedules and some will work better than others for each individual. My sense is that the most important thing is keeping a very regular schedule to make sure that when we are sleeping we are fully asleep. For me being awake at night seems to independently cause trouble and I suspsect this is likely true of most people, but it might not be the case with everyone. Even so, I suspect an irregular sleep schedule is much worse than being awake at night.

hnracer 6y ago

How did you arrive at this opinion? Are there studies that compare a polyphasic sleep schedule to a fixed sleep shield that you've come across? I am mostly polyphasic because of insomnia and have been for many years so I'm interested in reading more about it

joveian 6y ago

While I haven't done extensive historical research on sleep habits, the limited history that I have read makes me doubt your assertion. I think being up for a bit during the night and siesta are both things that can potentially happen while keeping a healthy circadian rhythm, but I don't think they are necessary for a healthy circadian rhythm. My impression is that siesta is a very common human practice with a boiological basis, but I'm not convinced that the same is the case with being awake for a while at night. I suspect the human body can adapt to many different schedules and some will work better than others for each individual. My sense is that the most important thing is keeping a very regular schedule to make sure that when we are sleeping we are fully asleep. For me being awake at night seems to independently cause trouble and I suspsect this is likely true of most people, but it might not be the case with everyone. Even so, I suspect an irregular sleep schedule is much worse than being awake at night.