Was discussing this at work today. Thought I would share it on the forum.
Below is a fascinating article. It discusses the fact that hundreds of years ago (before the invention of electrical light and the industrial revolution) it was common for people to have two sleeps a night. The first one lasting 4 hours - then people would rise in the middle of the night and socialise (either with their partner in bed or with friends in the street) for 2-3 hours - before going back to have 3-4 hours more sleep.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783
This knowledge has being lost to history due to the face that 'first sleep' and 'second sleep' were such common habits that nobody ever really pointed them out.
As such - it is hard these days to realise that sleeping habits were so diffrerent in the past.
I find this interesting on a philosophical basis.
Take washing your hans when you go to the toilet. It is something the majority of people do. As such - it is rarely mentioned in novels. If a character goes to the toilet in a book - the act of washing their hands is rarely mentioned.
So - imagine if hundreds of years from now - people no longer washed their hands when go the toilet (for whatever reason - maybe some strange scientifc/technological advance).
Well - when they study and read the books of our time. They will have a hard time realising that washing your hands was a common habit. Since it is such a common habit that it is rarely remarked upon or recorded in the literature of our time.
Anyway - as for sleep. My sleeping habits are pretty weird. I only get tired at about 5 or 6 in the morning. I am a total 'night owl'.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...night-owls-are-more-intelligent-morning-larks [article explaining why night people are smarter than morning people]
As a result - it is hard for me waking up at 7 in the morning for work. So - often I will skip a nights sleep. In order to have a fun weekend doing cool stuff. And in order that I will crash asleep straight after work the next day (through exhausation). Which means - I will be awake earlier enough the next day that I can chill out before work. Which is nice.
Anyway - if works well for me since there is nothing more pleasuarable than collapsing asleep when you are totally exhausted. Knowing that you can sleep for as long as you want (ie weekends or when I crash asleep at about 7pm after skipping a night's sleep).
It is all about bodyclocks. And once you get past 1pm (after skipping a nights sleep) your body moves onto a new day and starts to get more and more awake.
The dreams you have when you are in such a deep sleep are great. Plus - you have more time to do shit. For me it often feels like I get to extend my weekend by an extra day.
I have thought alot about this over the past couple of years. And was delighted when I saw that one of my intellectual heroes (R Buckminster Fuller) came to similar conclusions:
http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/inventions_of_buckminster_fuller_part_5_dymaxion_sleep/
Below is a fascinating article. It discusses the fact that hundreds of years ago (before the invention of electrical light and the industrial revolution) it was common for people to have two sleeps a night. The first one lasting 4 hours - then people would rise in the middle of the night and socialise (either with their partner in bed or with friends in the street) for 2-3 hours - before going back to have 3-4 hours more sleep.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783
This knowledge has being lost to history due to the face that 'first sleep' and 'second sleep' were such common habits that nobody ever really pointed them out.
As such - it is hard these days to realise that sleeping habits were so diffrerent in the past.
I find this interesting on a philosophical basis.
Take washing your hans when you go to the toilet. It is something the majority of people do. As such - it is rarely mentioned in novels. If a character goes to the toilet in a book - the act of washing their hands is rarely mentioned.
So - imagine if hundreds of years from now - people no longer washed their hands when go the toilet (for whatever reason - maybe some strange scientifc/technological advance).
Well - when they study and read the books of our time. They will have a hard time realising that washing your hands was a common habit. Since it is such a common habit that it is rarely remarked upon or recorded in the literature of our time.
Anyway - as for sleep. My sleeping habits are pretty weird. I only get tired at about 5 or 6 in the morning. I am a total 'night owl'.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...night-owls-are-more-intelligent-morning-larks [article explaining why night people are smarter than morning people]
As a result - it is hard for me waking up at 7 in the morning for work. So - often I will skip a nights sleep. In order to have a fun weekend doing cool stuff. And in order that I will crash asleep straight after work the next day (through exhausation). Which means - I will be awake earlier enough the next day that I can chill out before work. Which is nice.
Anyway - if works well for me since there is nothing more pleasuarable than collapsing asleep when you are totally exhausted. Knowing that you can sleep for as long as you want (ie weekends or when I crash asleep at about 7pm after skipping a night's sleep).
It is all about bodyclocks. And once you get past 1pm (after skipping a nights sleep) your body moves onto a new day and starts to get more and more awake.
The dreams you have when you are in such a deep sleep are great. Plus - you have more time to do shit. For me it often feels like I get to extend my weekend by an extra day.
I have thought alot about this over the past couple of years. And was delighted when I saw that one of my intellectual heroes (R Buckminster Fuller) came to similar conclusions:
http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/inventions_of_buckminster_fuller_part_5_dymaxion_sleep/
). Whether it is divided into 6 and 2 hours (siesta), or all at once and, more important, when it ends. For example, regardless of how much I've slept, I will always feel fucked up if I wake up in the darkness (this automatically precludes going to sleep during the day and waking with the night). I believe that this area is where there are significant differences worth studying.