One lifelong problem I've got is sleeping. I have great trouble falling asleep, and my sleeping patterns are very uncommon: some days I sleep 12 hours, some 5, but I'm usually very tired because of this. However, I used to think I had a "gift" of being really creative and having my best ideas just before sleep, just waking up, and during insomnia episodes. However, I've discovered that many suffer from this phenomena (anyone here?). This article could explain a lot!
This tricked me into thinking that I'm an extreme night owl, and it kept me from ever getting really good sleep.
Now, I've quit caffeinated beverages entirely, and I get tired around 11:30 pm every night, and I sleep fantastically well. I wake up naturally around 9:30 every morning and feel great.
All that is to say ... consider caffeine and other "drugs". You might be surprised how much they're affecting you.
It is sometimes possible to remain fully aware in what is essentially a full-on dream state. This is the best of both worlds, combining the rationality and critical thinking of the waking state, with the unbound creativity of the dream. It's like opening up the firehose of new ideas, while remaining in control.
I am fairly certain that at least some of the unusual claims made by people who practice meditation a lot (such as having access to a higher "wisdom", etc.) are based on gaining a measure of control over these states. For this reason, I think it's worth exploring some of the traditional meditation systems, seen as empirical "brain hacking" techniques. I'd love to see more research done in this field; some of Sam Harris' work is relevant.
Once it was morning, but I was not awake. I saw a tablet with writing on it, infinite detail like a fractal going deeper and deeper. But I knew I wasn't awake, my eyes were closed. But the clarity was amazing. My eyes were closed and yet I saw like as if my eyes were open. I told myself this is what having photographic memory must be like.
Another time it was morning again and I thought I was awake. But I saw things floating in the air, like holograms of objects. And somehow I knew, I was still sleeping, but not sleeping. What I saw was a perfect memory recall of my room, a place I had seen thousands of times. But it was all in my mind and my mind could insert impossible objects at will.
Yet another time I heard the most beautiful music. I'm not a musician, and I can't remember anything about the music. I just remember it was amazing, like something bach would create.
These weren't like normal dreams which are forgotten soon after waking. They left a lasting impression, and even though I can't recall the images or the music, somehow I can remember the awe and wonder of the experience.
Lucid dreams. I get these quite often, sometimes with full control, most of the time you wake up as soon as you realize you have control.
Also, dreams tend to fade rapidly. If you plan to use them to get ideas, it's best to write the ideas down immediately, before the ideas evaporate.
Starting from about age 12, but definitely getting worse as I get older, sleep is something I just can't seem to get right, no matter how I approach it.
I've tried getting eight hours of sleep, and it doesn't work. I do pretty good on six hours, but only for a while. Over the course of a few weeks, six becomes four, which becomes three, which is then two, and suddenly it's 3 days later and I'm still awake.
When it gets to the point that I find myself getting less than four hours of sleep a night, the only way I can force my body to sleep more, despite being very physically tired, is with medication. Of course, most sleep aids can't be taken for long periods of time, so that only helps for a short while.
Sometimes I don't get tired until 4am, and other times it's all I can do to stay awake at 6pm, regardless of whether I got up at 6:30 in the morning, or noon.
I've tried enforcing a rigid schedule, meditation, exercise, various sleep aids, antidepressants (Pazil, Zoloft), just "going with it", and as of late, melatonin supplements at the recommendation of my doctor. They helped for a few weeks, but then that, too, stopped being effective.
The closest I get to a normal sleep schedule is that about half the time, I can go to sleep around 4am and get up at 10am - but that's not really a very practical solution and there are 3-4 days a week where it's just not at all possible from a logistics standpoint.
This is called Hypnogogia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnogogia
The only way I can definitely replicate it is to stay up all night. The next day I will feel a lot more creative, but at the same time a lot less coordinated, frequently tired and not able to concentrate on doing something complicated. Also it's super easy to forget things, so you need to write down all your ideas.
I dunno if you often for instance stay up very very late with friends talking about things, but I think there is a similar effect at some point.
Alternatively you may find yourself more tired. Personally I like sleeping 8-9 hours a night. I find myself fairly alert a few minutes after I wake up and I can start my day. It certainly doesn't feel 'unnatural' to me.
I am also a big fan of sleeping when other people sleep so I can enjoy time with friends and family. Unusual sleep patterns typically mean missing out on some of this time.
Either way I have to agree with doing what works for you. I always made an attempt to sleep a full 8 hours and failed. I get by on 4-5 hours of sleep a night and feel fine!
I recall in the 2010 there were a bunch of athletes that all said the secret to their success - besides training hard - was getting 9 hours of sleep at night. IIRC both Sasha Cohen and Shaun White mentioned it.
I think I'd also read brain research that REM sleep (which tends to be back-loaded towards the end of the night) is when your brain converts experiences from that day from short-term memory into long-term skillsets. That'd be consistent with my experience that more mentally demanding tasks require more sleep, and the experience of those Olympic athletes, and that I don't really suffer a short-term penalty from lack of sleep, it's more a long-term problem.
As for segmented sleep, I'm not sure I could ever do that. If I even nap for like 30-60 minutes after 7pm, the chances of me falling asleep by midnight are pretty much nil. I'd be screwed if I tried to sleep from 8-12 and then again at 2-3am.
I didn't get out of bed when I woke up, but I found I was extremely lucid. As soon as I could use the time for problem solving, I stopped waking up :(
You suddenly begin to feel a sweet sense of pain. The feeling is just so beautiful that it feels amazing.
I've had that feeling quite a few number of times. And I will do anything to feel like that again.
You should take your own advice. Bi-Modal sleep has a lot more evidence than just that, and the article includes some from historians, which I guess you missed.
This sleep pattern is well accepted, and has been known for decades. Not sure why they are writing an article about it now, except maybe the author heard about it and decided it would make an interesting article.
By the way, I worked in sleep medicine, first as a medical tech, and then in technical support for the medical equipment. I never came across the idea that split sleep sessions was right or healthy, and never heard the sleep physicians or clinical specialists mention such a thing. It is far from "well accepted and known for decades", at least up until I left the industry in 2009 (though I spent less time with the specialists from about 2006).
Xurinos is presenting the correct scientific position; you are presenting the antithesis of science: "Yeah, you're wrong, everyone knows it and has always known it, I'm sure there's some research somewhere".
I sailed on a ship that had six four-hour watches with three watch groups. That meant that one group would stand two 4-hour watches per 24-hour period (eg, 4am-8am then 4pm-8pm). With less than eight hours between watches, you had no choice but to sleep in two different blocks each day.
The effects of such a schedule and standing watch in a windowless engine room deep in the hull of the ship are quite interesting. For example, people (myself included) would completely forget whether it is PM or AM. If you occasionally go outside--rather than straight from the engine room to your bunk--you never knew whether to expect it to be light or dark out. I often went out expecting to reminisce under the star-laden sky, only to find out it's broad daylight out.
It goes both ways.
Alarm clocks are a terrible habit. They wake us up with no regard to where we are in our sleep cycles. When I used an alarm, I used to wake up and go back to sleep until the alarm went off. Then I would hit the snooze button forever. With no alarm, I just get up the first time I wake up in the morning. I almost always wake up at the end of a good sleep cycle.
Getting rid of my alarm clock decreased my overall amount of sleep but greatly increased the quality of my sleep.
This approach works for many (my grandfather used this his whole working life, but not for me, sadly.
most folks I know, including me, have serious problems with sleep. it seems like we tap into each corner of human body and understand less or more how it works, but yet there is no real science behind how sleep works and how much of it we need. Heck, afaik scientists still argue why we need sleep at all and whats the main reasoning behind it. But not to brag too much: sometimes it happens to me that I sleep less hours and am more refreshed than sleeping longer, or even legit 7 or 8. I guess I just hit the right spot at the right time and REM phases worked out. If someone comes up with a device that can help you sleep not too long not to short so you always wake up fresh, I think he/she will nail a billion dollar idea!
A good second choice seems to be using something like 'Sleep Cycle' for iPhone, or one of these fancy new wristband accelerometer gizmos. I've had good success with Sleep Cycle, myself.
I'm really liking the Sleep Cycle app, too. Works great, simple, best 99 cents I've spent. Prior to it, I had the $69 WakeMate wristband, but never warmed up to it – it was uncomfortable, and a pain to set and keep charged.
For a long time, I used to wake up about 2 minutes before the alarm. Every single morning.
Lately, though, I've been waking up 20-60 minutes early. I just shrug and decide whether I feel like I need the extra time, or if I should do something with it. I usually get up and do something.
Also, maybe interesting - two 4 hour sleep cycle with a couple hours between is what happens naturally to me after a night of too much drinking. I wonder if there's some reason for that.
But science says that shouldn't happen!?
Not enough evidence to suggest that there's any kind of regularity to how humans "should" sleep yet.
So it is not just less than 8 hours makes things worse, same applies to more then 8 hours. So it is either I have to sleep 6-8 hours only, or I have adapted to this schedule so well, that anything else makes me feel terrible.
On the other hand, I have handful examples of me traveling with few flight changes, timezones changes, more than 30 hours in flights/airports, and after getting to my destination I spent full 16 hours day working or meeting with friends just fine. May be a little dizzy. And after consequent 8 hours sleep night - feel great next day.
This suggest, that it (8 hours sleep requirement) is more than just a something "hardwired" in to human's body...
Yes, sleep is weird.
If you wake up because you have to, or if you just happen to wake up in the middle of the night naturally?
His recommendation is that sleep cycles typically happen in 4 hour intervals so it's best to sleep 4 or 8 hours a night.
Getting up int he middle of a sleep cycle is often as bad as getting less than 4 hours of sleep.
And going to bed drunk is the worst for your sleep cycle.
What about those 90 minute cycles that are also commonly cited in popular sleep-advice? Those wouldn't work into a 4hour schedule.
Are you referring to those sleep cycles where you have 4 90 minute naps a day instead of sleeping once at night?
I'm not the subject matter expert, so I don't want to speak authoritatively:)
Ironically, all of the industry's marketing makes people anxious about getting enough sleep--and makes it harder for them to get to sleep (thus propagating the need for more expensive mattresses and pillows.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18sleep-t.html?pa...
1 hr * 365 days / 24 hours in day ~ 15 days.
And these are 24hours day. What it really should be:
1 hr * 365 days / (24 hours in day - 6 hours you sleep on average) ~ 21 days.
Which is, well, in office terms, work month :) congrats, you got 1/12 life for free :)
Dreams are the most beautiful things to ever happen to humans. I have always lived two lives one in dreams and one while am awake.
And some experiences that I've had dreaming just can't be had while I'm awake.
Segmented sleep is interesting but I don't think a majority of people could balance that with family and work.
Tough to say if this was a 19th century phenomenon or was persistent through history based on the structure of their corpus.
Does anyone have links to more research, perhaps with something a little more actionable of a conclusion?
I think that this bears out to what many of us are experiencing, and the idea to consider is simply to stop worrying about it and embrace it. The 'second sleep' is likely getting cut short, because we are not budgeting for the break.
I consistently tend to find myself daydreaming during this part of the night, anxious (as the article notes) about not sleeping. So personally, I'm just going to continue doing this without worry, and budget time for it. Duh, right? Why didn't I think of that before? It makes perfect sense now after reading the article.
I may even go wild and actually get up and do things for an hour or two every night, you know, for science.
Many thanks to the poster.
'Plunging' people into 14 hours of darkness per day? Does this sound like a scientifically sound way to determine the natural sleeping patterns of humans?
If my wife and I split our sleep cycle into two 4 hour periods we can better spend my four hours of free time.
The waking period between my commute and first sleep could be spend eating dinner, playing with the kids, and exercise. After my first sleep I can spend time with my wife, and study with a rested mind. Theoretically it seems like a good idea. We'll see how I cope after a week or two of trying.
When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep.
Not too long ago I suffered from minor insomnia and lucid dreaming. It was awful, to the point where I started to dread bedtime. For me, my diet at the time (fatty foods + sugar + caffeine + alcohol) had a lot to do with it, so once I committed to a healthy diet, my body settled back into a consistent sleep cycle. I guess it's really what works for you.
Edit: I'm curious what the recommended amount of sleep, or if it really is an individual thing per 24 hour or so period.
What I know is if I sleep less than seven hours I feel like crap during the day.
That's less than one reference every 2 weeks. Either that guy had the most relaxing job in the world, or it is genuinely difficult to find such references. Assuming the latter to give the researcher the benefit of the doubt here; how deep do you have to look before you start to think that maybe this isn't actually that common after all?
Also, how the bbc title reflects this study is beyond me.
