4 ms·

there is interesting historical research, which pops up from time to time, showing that people in many cultures before the advent of electric lighting commonly

there is interesting historical research, which pops up from time to time, showing that people in many cultures before the advent of electric lighting commonly slept in two phases -- about 4 hours, a couple hours awake, and about 4 hours. i think it gets too strong when people claim that this is "natural" or "better" or something. but the historical evidence suggests it's at least "okay", and if you sometimes wake up at 3am maybe just embrace this, get up, do something tedious, and go back to bed.

fjfuvucucuc 3y ago
Myth.
- currymj 3y ago
  has the historical evidence been reconsidered? i remember reading quotes from historical people who were all pretty clear that this is how they slept, and often implied they considered it not to be unusual.
  - fjfuvucucuc 3y ago
    Some people slept that way in pre industrial society. Doesn't mean everyone did.
- voiper1 3y ago
  When searching, I find everyone referencing the two-sleep information - much based on Roger Ekirch. https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-used-to-sleep-in-two-shifts-maybe-we-should-again https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-used-to-sleep-in-two-shi... https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/dont-worry-if-you-cant-sleep-through-the-night-for-thousands-of-years-humans https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/dont-worry-if-you-ca... However, I did find this article from The Atlantic: https://archive.is/MYcgm#selection-1033.0-1049.105 https://archive.is/MYcgm#selection-1033.0-1049.105 >But humans have never had a universal method of slumber. A 2015 study of hunter-gatherer societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia found that most foragers enjoyed one long sleep. Two years later, another study found that a rural society in Madagascar practiced segmented sleep. Two years after that, a study found that the indigenous residents of Tanna, in the South Pacific, largely had one uninterrupted sleep.
whazor 3y ago
Many parents wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby and change the diaper. I liked it better when I wake up in the middle of the night. At some point, my child could sleep until 5 or 6am, which is a more difficult time for me to return sleeping.
ansc 3y ago
Do you have a source? It sounds interesting and I always want this to be true, but with the natural circadian rhythm slightly longer than 24h and just the fact that most cultures adopt mono/biphasic (”siesta based”) sleep it seems surprising.
- raddan 3y ago
  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/medieval-sleeping-habits-insomnia-segmented-biphasic/621372/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/medieval-s...

fjfuvucucuc 3y ago

Myth.

currymj 3y ago
has the historical evidence been reconsidered? i remember reading quotes from historical people who were all pretty clear that this is how they slept, and often implied they considered it not to be unusual.
- fjfuvucucuc 3y ago
  Some people slept that way in pre industrial society. Doesn't mean everyone did.
voiper1 3y ago
When searching, I find everyone referencing the two-sleep information - much based on Roger Ekirch. https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-used-to-sleep-in-two-shifts-maybe-we-should-again https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-used-to-sleep-in-two-shi... https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/dont-worry-if-you-cant-sleep-through-the-night-for-thousands-of-years-humans https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/dont-worry-if-you-ca... However, I did find this article from The Atlantic: https://archive.is/MYcgm#selection-1033.0-1049.105 https://archive.is/MYcgm#selection-1033.0-1049.105 >But humans have never had a universal method of slumber. A 2015 study of hunter-gatherer societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia found that most foragers enjoyed one long sleep. Two years later, another study found that a rural society in Madagascar practiced segmented sleep. Two years after that, a study found that the indigenous residents of Tanna, in the South Pacific, largely had one uninterrupted sleep.

whazor 3y ago

Many parents wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby and change the diaper. I liked it better when I wake up in the middle of the night. At some point, my child could sleep until 5 or 6am, which is a more difficult time for me to return sleeping.

ansc 3y ago

Do you have a source? It sounds interesting and I always want this to be true, but with the natural circadian rhythm slightly longer than 24h and just the fact that most cultures adopt mono/biphasic (”siesta based”) sleep it seems surprising.

raddan 3y ago
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/medieval-sleeping-habits-insomnia-segmented-biphasic/621372/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/medieval-s...