Why did people sleep in two parts in olden times? Image Credit source: Pexels
There was a time when people used to sleep in two parts at night. This used to be a common thing then. This was because in olden times there was neither the habit of staying awake late at night nor electricity. In such a situation, people used to go to sleep as soon as it was evening. After sunset, people’s sleep is complete and ends before midnight, after which people take a break for some time and go to sleep again. But gradually this method disappeared completely. Now people stay awake till late night and are not able to complete their sleep even in one night. In today’s language, this method is known as two-phase sleep or segmented sleep.
Today most people sleep for 6 to 8 hours at a time. But science shows that sleeping in two parts was completely natural for the body. Today in this article we will know how correct this method was according to science and what are its benefits.
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How did the habit of sleeping in two parts end?
The habit of sleeping in two phases gradually started ending for almost two centuries. As times changed, electricity came, light increased and the pace of life increased, this sleep pattern started disappearing. People started staying up late at night, working hours became fixed and now it became common to take long sleep of 7-8 hours at a time. In this way the habit of sleeping in two parts ended completely and one sleep became common.
Why did people wake up in the middle of the night?
Waking up in the middle Ram was considered a completely normal and natural process. In olden times there was no light. Then the body’s melatonin hormone (sleep-inducing hormone) would naturally increase after sunset. Due to this, the body’s circadian rhythm i.e. biological clock automatically maintained the balance of sleep and wakefulness. But as artificial light and bright screen brightness increased in the evening, it slowed down our sleep process. Nowadays, people spend too much screen time and this is the reason why they get less sleep. Due to this the sleep cycle gets completely disturbed. Nowadays, if someone wakes up in the middle of the night, he is considered to be suffering from sleep problem or insomnia. But in olden times, after waking up from sleep, people used to pray, finish household chores and even meditate deeply.
What does science say?
Scientists also did research on this old method. He created lighting conditions like old times. When there was less or no light, people’s sleep was divided into parts. Evidence of this method has also been found in old diaries, literature and medical articles. There is mention of people getting up once at night and going to sleep again. Not only this, anthropological research shows that many people today sleep in two such parts. This means segmented sleep schedule.
What are the benefits of ‘segmented sleep’
Nowadays people associate waking up in the middle of the night with some disease. But this could be a neural process. If we understand old sleep patterns, sleep therapy methods can be improved. For example, in today’s time, if you sit quietly or take rest for some time at night, it helps in reducing stress. Even though today’s fast-paced life has changed our sleep rhythm, the body’s biological clock is still the same. Therefore, even today we can get better and restful sleep by following the old fashioned sleeping methods.
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