The widely accepted notion that we need eight continuous hours of sleep each night might be fundamentally wrong, according to fascinating historical research that reveals our ancestors had completely different bedtime habits.
The Lost Art of Segmented Sleep
For those who struggle with waking in the middle of the night, there might be comfort in knowing this pattern was once completely normal. Historical records uncovered by researchers show that the practice of 'two sleeps' - known as segmented or biphasic sleep - was standard practice in medieval times.
Rather than sleeping straight through the night, people would sleep for a few hours after dusk, wake for a period during the small hours, and then sleep again until morning. This waking period between sleeps was known as 'the watch' and was used for various activities including reading, praying, social visits, chores, and surprisingly - according to historical documents - intimate relations.
Scientific Evidence Supports Historical Pattern
Dr Kevin Morgan, a sleep expert at Loughborough University, suggests that modern night waking could be a residual echo of this ancestral pattern. 'You would be entitled on the basis of the evidence to suggest that amongst people who wake up in the middle of the night, maybe this is a residual echo of earlier propensities,' he told the Daily Mail.
The discovery of this historical sleep pattern came from historian Professor A. Roger Ekirch, who unearthed around 500 references to segmented sleeping in Britain's National Archives during the 1990s. These references appeared in diverse sources including fiction, diaries, medical textbooks, and legal records.
Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned the pattern in The Squire's Tale, while a 16th-century doctor's manual actually recommended the period between sleeps as the ideal time for intimacy, suggesting it allowed men to 'do it better' and women to have 'more enjoyment'.
Modern Sleep Crisis Meets Ancient Wisdom
The relevance of this historical pattern becomes particularly significant given today's sleep crisis. Current NHS recommendations advise eight hours of sleep nightly, but a 2023 survey by Nuffield Health found that only 36% of British adults achieve what's considered a 'good' night's sleep - defined as 7.5 to 8.5 hours.
Even more concerning, 11% of the 8,000 people surveyed reported sleeping just two to four hours each night. With many turning to prescription sleep medications that often come with crippling side effects, researchers are questioning whether we should reconsider our approach to sleep entirely.
Psychiatrist Thomas Wehr unintentionally validated the historical pattern through a scientific study where he placed 15 young men in conditions mimicking early winter light patterns. After four weeks, the subjects naturally fell into a segmented sleep pattern - sleeping for four hours, waking for two hours around midnight, then sleeping for another four to five hours.
Brain activity measurements revealed that the first sleep contained more deep sleep, crucial for memory consolidation, while the second sleep featured more REM sleep, essential for processing daily experiences and managing stress.
Dr Morgan cautiously suggests that segmented sleep remains within human capacity, noting that 'sleep is incredibly plastic, it is adaptable.' However, he emphasises that while the pattern might work for some, it may not suit those with rigid work schedules requiring early starts.
The disappearance of segmented sleep coincided with industrialisation, when reliable artificial lighting and regimented work schedules pushed society toward consolidated sleep. As anthropologist Matthew Wolf-Meyer argues in his 2012 book, our current sleep habits serve capitalist society rather than natural human rhythms, creating what he describes as a 'culture of exhaustion'.
For those struggling with night waking, the research offers both validation and potential solutions. Rather than fighting the pattern with medication, perhaps embracing our ancestral sleep habits could provide a more natural path to restful nights.
