For a long time now sleep experts, occupational therapists and psychologists have warned about the importance of getting at least six hours sleep per night and the consequences that can come with not achieving this. The block eight hour period of sleep in which we have become accustomed to is actually a relatively new concept.
It is true that sleep is an essential part of health.
Why Sleep is Important
With enough sleep, we're less stressed, have a higher cognitive memory and have less chance of developing serious health conditions. Sleep is responsible for us leading healthier and better quality lives. Despite these facts, do you ever wake up in the night or have continually broken sleep? Well you’re not alone and the remedy may simply be a case of mixing up your sleeping pattern.
Segmented Sleep
The idea of a 3-4 hour sleep pattern twice per night was first discovered by a professor of History at Virginia Tech, Roger Ekirch. His research found that a single eight hour sleeping block wasn’t always necessary. Instead, he found that; 4 hours sleep, 2-3 hours awake and then another 4 hour sleep, was optimal.
Historical court records, books, and personal papers all show evidence of people sleeping in two distinct periods each night. But perhaps what is more surpassing than anything is just how common this concept was. It was the standard and accepted way of sleeping in society.
But what exactly would people do during this three hour twilight period when awake?
Many of the people who awoke at this time would do everyday activities. Most would stay in their beds and read or talk with their partners. Others often used this time to pray. Many more would smoke and some even went around to see neighbours before returning for their second bout of slumber.
As we all know, the idea of having two sleeps during one night vanished. This came about because of the arrival of street lighting and later the introduction of electric indoor lighting. With the advent of street lighting, twilight hours stopped being the home to criminals and became a time for socialising and work. Eventually, people began to view having two sleeping periods in one night as a waste of time.
Therefore, throughout most of our evolution, we have followed a pattern of two four‑hour sleeping periods. We have slept in a way that is natural to us and it has evolved out of the dark-night lifecycle. Waking up during the night is simply part of a normal human physiology. The process of sleeping in consolidated eight hour blocks could actual be harmful.
There are a few reasons for this. The first is that when people wake up during the night, they often feel anxious that they cannot get back to sleep and achieve the essential rest that they need. Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford goes onto say that: “Many people wake up at night and panic. I tell them that what they are experiencing is a throwback to the bi-modal sleeping pattern”.
The Benefits of Segmented Sleep
The benefits of having two sleep periods is that it's easier to enter a deeper sleep, particularly in the second stage. We also enter REM (rapid eye movement) more quickly and between the sleeping periods we are often more productive. Additionally, we can remember our dreams more easily, which many people believe gives us access to our subconscious selves.
People shifted to a single eight‑hour sleep period for a combination of reasons. Living in a twenty-four hour society, where we have to try and fit everything into our lifestyles not only compromises the amount of sleep we get but the quality too. Despite the major health benefits of adopting a different sleep pattern, many people overlook these because a single block of sleep feels more productive.
Additionally, our environment, full of stimulation and constant light, often fuels anxiety about sleep. If, like many of us, you’re unable to achieve this sleeping style, then remember the benefits that napping can bring.
