I was all prepared to write about something else this morning until I read a link an FB friend posted. "The Myth of the Eight Hour Sleep". It describes research which seems to indicate that we are wired to sleep for about four hours, be awake for one or two hours, then sleep for another four. A historian has written a book about how this was a widespread pattern of behavior for much of humanity before the advent of artificial lighting that permitted us to do more in the dark. Historical documents refer regularly to the "first sleep" and "second sleep". And doctors expect this is a factor in people who have sleep maintenance insomnia.
Oh. My. Goodness.
If this is all true, this could explain so much for me. My waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble going back to sleep . . . my light, fragmented sleep for the last few hours of the morning . . . hmmm.
This puts a whole new light on my sleep problem. If this is all true, then let's see . . . a normal pattern for me could be go to bed by 10, wake up about 2, do something for an hour or so, back in bed at 3, and up again at 7.
Dare I try that? The thing is, so many other "sleep experts" put so much emphasis on getting a good long 7-8 hour sleep. They tell you things that contradict this. I hate experts. Really! When you have two "experts" on a topic giving you contradictory information, the term itself becomes completely bogus.
It has occurred to me lately that we allow ourselves to be too dependent on "experts". I decided a couple months ago that to fix this sleep problem, I needed to follow my own instincts and the leading of the Spirit. And so far, I think I'm more on the right track.
This bit of info will require some further pondering, however . . .
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