TLDR: it was capitalism forcing scheduled blocks of time, and artificial light letting us be active longer in the evening.
this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2025
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I sleep twice because of night sweats but man it would be nice if my husband also did so I had someone to chat with instead of just a very grumpy cat.
Does the cat respond?
Grumpily
Extremely grumpily! And loudly because she's deaf.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) advises people to leave bed after about 20 minutes awake, do a quiet activity in dim light, such as reading, then return when sleepy.
Last time I tried that after waking around 3am, I only felt sleepy by 7, with the first hour or so being me reading a kindle under yellow light. At least it wasn't a workday.
It's important to continue doing it. Just doing it once isn't really accomplishing anything
This is peak archaeology/anthropology. Things that really fundamentally overturn assumptions so widespread that we don't even realize we're making them. Makes me wanna try sleeping like this for awhile - in conjunction with not using any lights past sunset of course. I wonder if it would be nicer? Or maybe the fact that we have the artificial lights that alter our circadian rhythm actually make it totally fine to have one continuous sleep instead?
I don't think it makes much difference. I have not had to sleep on a schedule for a long time. I'm only 41 and have physical disability issues that impact sleep, but falling asleep due to exhaustion, waking up for an hour around 3am and sleeping naturally after does not make a profound difference. The biggest difference for me is a quiet environment in the last 2 hours of sleep.
Thanks for sharing your experience! That makes a lot of sense and it's pretty relieving to hear it honestly. I'm not always about buying into the whole "natural=good" line of reasoning, but biology is nuanced, and sometimes natural really is good. But I'm glad that our bodies are legitimately adaptable when it comes to sleep. I suppose that makes a lot of sense, since daylight hours vary a lot by place and time of year anyways.
I always loved having awake time at night.
I sleep twice in one night a lot. I wish I could just sleep twice at the same time instead of waking up in the middle. 😮💨
Sleep smarter, not harder?
*Sorry, it's wicked late.*😅
You guys are getting continuous sleep?
After getting on a CPAP for sleep apnea I sleep like a rock. Get a sleep study, there might be a reason you don’t get continuous sleep.
Getting an anti apnea bite guard is what helped me. The difference is genuinely insane
If anyone could tell me if this sleep pattern is biologically or in any other way better, that would be awesome.
There was a study where some people lived in utter darkness for several months. After a couple of weeks, they all went on a 48 hour day schedule, meaning they would just sleep once every 48 hours.
Not sure if that answers the question, but it was an interesting and unexpected outcome.
Studies show that in total darkness people have a 24-25 hour rhythm to their sleep.
Sounds like you read an anomolous study.
Maybe it's true for very large values of an hour?
May have disremembered it, I remembered this from years ago and a quick search didn't give me the study so I don't know.
It was / is a real study, you didn't imagine it I guess, but it was an anomaly!
Ah, thanks for clarifying. Glad that my memory is not as terrible as my wife sometimes claims it is (although definitely selective and biased towards obscure tidbits of knowledge).
It does not, but it helps.
I’ve done it before but not at night. When I had to be up at 4 for work, I would sleep from like 20-00 then be up for a few hours before work, and take another 4 hour nap when I got home. It felt like I had infinite time on my hands and I was always prepared for anything. That drag I was used to at the end of my work day was gone.
Now I work 12 hour shifts, and returning to a continuous sleep has made my sleep schedule so inconsistent and exhausting.
"That drag I was used to at the end ofmy work day was gone."
Interesting, seems worth a try.
Do you have any recommendations?
Do you think you precise regiment is appropriate or is there a better way like maybe 20-3, then be wakeful for an hour and go back to sleep till the morning?
I heard that we needed to wake up to keep various household essentials going, like the wood fireplace. From experience with a faulty thermometer, waking up in the cold sucks and it takes 3x the time to roll out from under the covers. I can imagine those chores were a part of their daily lives. God damn we've really regressed as a species, no more "survival of the fittest" but "surviving oppressive oligarchies", do times really change?
FWIW, "the fittest" there refers to those most capable of adaptation, not simply the most resilient, hardy, athletic, etc. 🤓
following daylight hours for artificial lighting is the best thing for my mood, together with eating the heaviest meal at lunch instead - as in agrarian society
This doesn't mention how long either of the two sleeps were or how long this wakeful period lasted. Can't imagine it was the same for everyone.
Quite a while back when I had no time schedule pressures, I fell into an sleep wake cycle that was around four hours asleep, followed by eight awake. I found that quite pleasant.
We also used to sleep tight.
Well, Fuck.
Now what
I sleep best when it's continuous though 🤔