The sci­ence of ‘insom­nia hour’ and how to shut it off

From .pressreader.com

IT’S 3am, and you’re wide awake. Your brain is racing, rehash­ing work dead­lines, gro­cery lists, and maybe even that one embar­rass­ing thing you said a dec­ade ago. Sound famil­iar?

No, you’re not alone. This middle-of-the-night insom­nia is so frus­trat­ingly com­mon that it prac­tic­ally feels like an unspoken rite of pas­sage in adult­hood.

If you’ve ever found your­self doom-scrolling or pacing the kit­chen at 4am, only to finally drift off as the sun rises (and your alarm looms), let’s break this down.

Why does it hap­pen? And, more import­antly, how do you dodge this sleep thief once and for all?

The sci­ence behind your 3am wake-up

Psy­cho­lo­gists and sleep experts call this “middle insom­nia” or “sleep main­ten­ance insom­nia”. Essen­tially, it’s that cruel inab­il­ity to fall back asleep after wak­ing up in the dead of night.

Accord­ing to renowned sleep expert Dr Michael Breus, there’s a bio­lo­gical cul­prit at play. Speak­ing to The Wash­ing­ton Post, Breus explained that every­one wakes up between 1 and 3am dur­ing nat­ural sleep cycles; it’s wired into our bio­logy.

When we go to sleep, our body tem­per­at­ure drops, tip­ping us into deeper sleep stages. But come the afore­men­tioned times, your body tem­per­at­ure starts to rise again, trans­ition­ing you into a lighter state of sleep.

Most of the time, this brief awaken­ing is like a moment­ary radar blip; it passes unnoticed.

But some­times, stress, anxi­ety, or a hyper­act­ive mind turns this routine bio­lo­gical event into a full-blown insom­nia spiral. Your brain kicks into over­drive, obsess­ing over everything and any­thing.

Add life­style factors like caf­feine, late-night screen time, or an irreg­u­lar sleep pat­tern, and, bam, you’re star­ing at the ceil­ing, will­ing your­self back to dream­land. Oh, and yes, women are slightly more likely to exper­i­ence this, thanks to fluc­tu­ations in hor­mones dur­ing men­stru­ation, preg­nancy, or men­o­pause. Fun, right?

So what can you do about it?

Fall­ing back asleep after your mind starts whirr­ing at 3am can feel impossible, but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how to head off that insom­nia spiral and reclaim those pre­cious hours of rest even in the middle of the night.

1. Res­ist your instincts

Ser­i­ously, res­ist. Do NOT pick up your phone. Ignore the tempta­tion to check Ins­tagram, glance at an email, or Google whether your cough last month was actu­ally something omin­ous. This isn’t just an arbit­rary rule; blue light from screens can sup­press melatonin, the hor­mone your body needs to help you fall back asleep.

You might also feel like get­ting up to wander around the house or rum­mage through the fridge, but don’t. Move­ment raises your heart rate, increas­ing alert­ness and mak­ing it harder to drift back to sleep.

And the hard­est rule of all? Don’t look at the clock. As obvi­ous as it sounds, know­ing the time is the fast­est way to kick your brain into prob­lem-solv­ing mode (“Oh no, it’s 3.45am; how can I sur­vive with only three hours of sleep?”).

Instead, roll over, close your eyes, and trust that time itself is out of sight, out of mind.

2. Breathe your way to dream­land

You’ve prob­ably heard of the 4-7-8 breath­ing tech­nique, but if you haven’t tried it, tonight might just be the night. The idea is simple:

● Inhale for 4 seconds.

● Hold your breath for 7 seconds.

● Exhale slowly for 8 seconds. This isn’t just mind­ful­ness fluff; it’s sci­ence-backed.

Tech­niques like this slow your breath­ing, activ­ate the vagus nerve, and nudge your para­sym­path­etic nervous sys­tem (a.k.a. your “rest and digest” sys­tem) into action. That shift helps calm racing thoughts and lowers your heart rate, mak­ing it easier to fall asleep. 3. Tame your mid­night wor­ries We’ve all been there: replay­ing money wor­ries, work dra­mas, or even exist­en­tial dread at 3.23am. Spoiler alert: night­time cata­stroph­ising is a brain trick, and tomor­row, everything prob­ably won’t feel as dire as it does right now.

One proven trick? Med­it­a­tion. No, you don’t need apps or candles, just a little focus. A body scan med­it­a­tion can anchor your atten­tion and ease the swirl of overthink­ing. Start by tens­ing your toes, then releas­ing the ten­sion. Work your way up, focus­ing on one body part at a time.

Or, try cog­nit­ive shuff­ling. Which is basic­ally dis­tract­ing your brain by ima­gin­ing ran­dom, calm­ing images, bana­nas, bal­loons, beaches (in my case, loun­ging on Lake Como or that money from my pos­sible lotto win­nings).

This mim­ics the wan­der­ing ran­dom­ness of pre-sleep thoughts and can help you slip into that dreamy state sooner.

4. Prep for bet­ter sleep

If you’re con­sist­ently strug­gling with middle-of-the-night insom­nia, it might be time to revisit your habits. Watch your caf­feine intake after lunch.

Keep your sleep envir­on­ment cool and dark. And build a calm­ing pre-sleep routine, turn off screens, dim the lights, and try a cup of chamo­mile tea or a warm bath (clas­sic advice, but true for a reason).

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/sunday-tribune-south-africa/20260329/282016153867585 

Waking Up At 3 A.M.? Here's What This Sleep Specialist Recommends

From mindbodygreen.com

By Ava Durgin

Do you find yourself staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m., frustration building with each passing minute? You're not alone. This phenomenon, often called "middle-of-the-night insomnia," affects millions of people, especially as we age. 

According to Wendy Troxel, Ph.D., one of the leading voices in behavioural sleep medicine, these awakenings aren't inherently problematic. It's what we do next that matters. 

As a licensed clinical psychologist, certified behavioural sleep medicine specialist, and Senior Behavioural Scientist at the RAND Corporation, Troxel has spent over 15 years studying sleep's effects on everything from intimate relationships to cognitive function. 

On the mindbodygreen podcast, she shared her expert strategies for those frustrating middle-of-the-night wake-ups that can leave us feeling exhausted and irritable the next day.

Why your 3 a.m. wake-ups are sabotaging your sleep

First, let's clear up a common misconception: waking up during the night is completely normal. "Sleep is a highly dynamic state, and so waking up in the middle of the night is partly just part of the process of sleep," Troxel explains. The real problem begins when you can't fall back asleep, and more importantly, when you become increasingly frustrated about it.

When you wake at 3 a.m. and find yourself unable to drift off again, a harmful cycle begins. "That breeds frustration and anxiety," says Troxel. "The habit that's forming is not only the inability to fall back to sleep, but it's being awake and frustrated in bed." 

This emotional response activates your sympathetic nervous system—your body's "fight or flight" mode, making sleep even more elusive.

Worse yet, many people instinctively check the clock, which Troxel strongly advises against. "Nothing good ever comes from looking at the clock at three o'clock in the morning," she warns. Seeing those glowing numbers only increases anxiety as you calculate how little sleep you'll get if you don't fall back asleep soon.

The science-backed solution for middle-of-the-night insomnia

Here's how to implement it:

Don't check the clock (use your internal sense of time to estimate 20-30 minutes)

Leave your bedroom and go to another room

Engage in a relaxing but distracting activity under low lighting

Return to bed only when you start feeling sleepy again

"People get this technique wrong because they think, 'Oh, I need to go do something boring.' It's not about that," Troxel clarifies. "The first technique is to get your brain off the fact that you're not sleeping and you're really frustrated about it."

She suggests reading a book, watching TV (with low brightness), doing a mindfulness colouring book, knitting, or even folding laundry. The key is finding something engaging enough to distract your mind without being so stimulating that it keeps you awake.

Prevent middle-of-the-night thoughts with this journaling practice

For those whose 3 a.m. wake-ups are accompanied by racing thoughts and worries, Troxel recommends a preventative strategy called a "scheduled worry exercise". This research-backed technique helps create psychological distance between you and your concerns before they invade your sleep.

Here's how to do it:

Set aside 10-15 minutes in the early evening (at least a few hours before bed)

Use a timer (Troxel prefers an old-fashioned egg timer)

Write down every thought, worry, or concern on your mind

When the timer rings, literally close your notebook, signalling to your brain that worry time is over

Practice this daily for at least two weeks

Many people find that over time, they have fewer worries to write down—a sign that the technique is working.

The takeaway

Those 3 a.m. wake-ups don't have to derail your sleep quality or next-day functioning. By implementing Troxel's evidence-based strategies—getting out of bed when sleep is elusive and practicing scheduled worry time—you can break the frustration cycle that perpetuates sleeplessness. Remember that waking during the night is normal; it's your response that determines whether it becomes problematic.

As Troxel emphasizes, good sleep isn't just about what happens at night—it's a 24-hour practice that begins the moment you wake up and involves how you regulate your emotions throughout the day. 

By approaching sleep with mindfulness rather than frustration, you're taking a powerful step toward reclaiming those lost middle-of-the-night hours and transforming your relationship with sleep itself.

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/why-checking-clock-ruins-your-sleep-and-what-to-do-instead-how-to-prevent-middle

Medieval routine could be the answer for people who struggle to sleep at night

From good.is

Segmented sleep patterns were once common among eminent people, but they may not help today 

During a period of his life, the famous author Charles Dickens suffered from severe insomnia, leading him to wander the gas-lit streets of London at midnight. While he famously chronicled his "night walks," Dickens wasn’t alone in experiencing such fragmented sleep patterns. Long before electric lights, many people followed a similar sleep routine. A 2015 paper in Current Biology revealed that three pre-industrial societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia also practiced this “split-sleep” habit. A report by Inverse linked this medieval sleep pattern to what we now refer to as “polyphasic sleep.”

In this research, scientists who studied these three hunter-gatherer and hunter-horticultural societies found that these people stayed up for hours after sunset. These civilizations didn’t have access to electricity and their only source of light after dark was a campfire. They slept for 4 to 5 hours and then woke up to do certain activities like reading, walking, or eating small meals. This looks similar to what Spain’s people call their “afternoon siestas,” in which they close their shops during noontime to relax, nap, or have a cup of coffee.

                                                           This woman knows the lost secret of sleep. 

Léon Bazille Perrault (1832–1908)

As it turns out, “polyphasic sleep” or “segmented sleep” is a well-known concept in sleep psychiatry. Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping in multiple smaller segments during the day as opposed to sleeping once as is common in many countries. Apart from Dickens, some of the most eminent personalities in history used to have this habit, including Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Napoleon Bonaparte, Salvador Dali, Benjamin Franklin, and even Albert Einstein.

“These historical figures' quirky sleep habits may seem eccentric, but they offer us a unique lens through which to explore the human experience of sleep. Whether it's polyphasic slumber, midnight walks, or dream-infused artistry, these peculiar sleep patterns remind us that, throughout history, sleep has been as much an art as it is a science — a canvas where creativity, genius, and individuality converge in the world of dreams,” Alen Juginović, a doctor and researcher at Harvard Medical School who studies the effect of poor sleep quality on health, explained in an article.

Adding to the sleep habits of ancestors, the researchers of this 2015 study related the cause of modern-day insomnia with the advent of electric lighting and technological development. “The invention of the electric light, followed by the development of television, the Internet, and related technologies, along with increased caffeine usage, has greatly shortened sleep duration from ‘natural’ levels and disrupted its evolved timing,” they wrote in the paper, adding that the “reduction in sleep duration has been linked to obesity, mood disorders, and a host of other physical and mental illnesses thought to have increased recently.”

                                                                                     Phones aren't helping our sleep cycles. Canva

One of the greatest advantages of polyphasic sleep is that it enables the person to directly plunge into deep sleep. “If you look at the standard sleep period, our sleep is typically deepest at the beginning of the night, and then it's getting more and more shallow,” Mathias Basner, professor of sleep psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School for Medicine, told Inverse, and added, “You're basically capitalizing on this deeper sleep at the beginning of the sleep period.”

However, this kind of sleep pattern has its cons. Basner said that switching between the processes of falling asleep and waking up is not so simple. “The brain needs time to come online again to fire up all the systems,” he said. “It can take up to an hour or even longer, depending on which state you're awake from, to be fully alert again.” This sleep inertia could possibly impact productivity, and hamper a person from using their daytime to the fullest.

However, Roger Ekirch, who is probably the biggest expert on “segmented sleep,” believes that this kind of sleep is extremely beneficial for those who regularly suffer from insomnia. He explained to Harpers Magazine that segmented sleep can help insomniacs “fall back asleep by easing their anxiety.” But, for people who don’t have insomnia, probably the regular 7 to 8-hour sleep is the best thing to continue. Changing it could disturb their circadian rhythms, “There's no going back because conditions have changed,” Ekirch told BBC.

https://www.good.is/medieval-sleep-routines-ex1

Copy of Medieval sleep routine could be the answer to people who struggle to sleep at night

From good.is

During a period of his life, the famous author Charles Dickens suffered from severe insomnia, leading him to wander the gas-lit streets of London at midnight. While he famously chronicled his "night walks," Dickens wasn’t alone in experiencing such fragmented sleep patterns. Long before electric lights, many people followed a similar sleep routine. A 2015 paper in Current Biology revealed that three pre-industrial societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia also practiced this “split-sleep” habit. A report by Inverse linked this medieval sleep pattern to what we now refer to as “polyphasic sleep.”

In this research, scientists who studied these three hunter-gatherer and hunter-horticultural societies found that these people stayed up for hours after sunset. These civilizations didn’t have access to electricity and their only source of light after dark was a campfire. They slept for 4 to 5 hours and then woke up to do certain activities like reading, walking, or eating small meals. This looks similar to what Spain’s people call their “afternoon siestas,” in which they close their shops during noontime to relax, nap, or have a cup of coffee.

As it turns out, “polyphasic sleep” or “segmented sleep” is a well-renowned concept in sleep psychiatry. Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping in multiple smaller segments during the day as opposed to sleeping once as is common in many countries. Apart from Dickens, some of the most eminent personalities in history used to have this habit, including Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Napoleon Bonaparte, Salvador Dali, Benjamin Franklin, and even Albert Einstein.

“These historical figures' quirky sleep habits may seem eccentric, but they offer us a unique lens through which to explore the human experience of sleep. Whether it's polyphasic slumber, midnight walks, or dream-infused artistry, these peculiar sleep patterns remind us that, throughout history, sleep has been as much an art as it is a science — a canvas where creativity, genius, and individuality converge in the world of dreams,” Alen Juginović, a doctor and researcher at Harvard Medical School who studies the effect of poor sleep quality on health, explained in an article.

Adding to the sleep habits of ancestors, the researchers of this 2015 study related the cause of modern-day insomnia with the advent of electric lighting and technological development. “The invention of the electric light, followed by the development of television, the Internet, and related technologies, along with increased caffeine usage, has greatly shortened sleep duration from ‘natural’ levels and disrupted its evolved timing,” they wrote in the paper, adding that the “reduction in sleep duration has been linked to obesity, mood disorders, and a host of other physical and mental illnesses thought to have increased recently.”

One of the greatest advantages of polyphasic sleep is that it enables the person to directly plunge into deep sleep. “If you look at the standard sleep period, our sleep is typically deepest at the beginning of the night, and then it's getting more and more shallow,” Mathias Basner, professor of sleep psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School for Medicine, told Inverse, and added, “You're basically capitalizing on this deeper sleep at the beginning of the sleep period.”

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Olly

However, this kind of sleep pattern has its cons. Basner said that switching between the processes of falling asleep and waking up is not so simple. “The brain needs time to come online again to fire up all the systems,” he said. “It can take up to an hour or even longer, depending on which state you're awake from, to be fully alert again.” This sleep inertia could possibly impact productivity, and hamper a person from using their daytime to the fullest.

However, Roger Ekirch, who is probably the biggest expert on “segmented sleep,” believes that this kind of sleep is extremely beneficial for those who regularly suffer from insomnia. He explained to Harpers Magazine that segmented sleep can help insomniacs “fall back asleep by easing their anxiety.” But, for people who don’t have insomnia, probably the regular 7 to 8-hour sleep is the best thing to continue. Changing it could disturb their circadian rhythms, “There's no going back because conditions have changed,” Ekirch told BBC.

https://www.good.is/medieval-sleep-routine-could-be-the-answer-to-people-who-struggle-to-sleep-at-night-ex1 

Wake-up call: six ways to change your attitude to insomnia

From theguardian.com

By Annabel Abbs

Waking up at night is natural and even beneficial, so we should embrace insomnia and learn to enjoy it

Sleep: we know it feels good, we know it’s necessary. But the deluge of guidance, whether from well-meaning sleep scientists or bio-hackers on TikTok, has made falling asleep more fraught than ever. We are now instructed to sleep for seven to eight hours in an undisturbed stretch, with perfectly proportioned REM and Non-REM sleep. We are encouraged to track, count and monitor to achieve perfect sleep. We are told that failing to sleep well raises our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, obesity, depression and death. Little wonder so many of us (37% according to the Sleep Charity) are struggling to sleep. And little wonder that today’s anxiety-fuelled sleep industry is worth a staggering $585bn.

For anyone suffering from less-than-perfect slumber, being constantly reminded that sleep is our superpower has done little more than amplify our sleep anxiety. I was one of these. So when a series of bereavements sent my mild insomnia into overdrive, I took the advice of a sleep scientist who suggested I treat it as a luxurious gift of extra time. Viewed like this, my sleepless nights became a chance to metaphorically travel through new lands, and no longer a “condition” that threatened to kill me.

I used this gift of extra time to investigate the history and science of slumber. And eventually I began to sleep again. This is what I learned:

No one died of insomnia

We humans have always experienced periods of short, broken sleep. Letters, diaries and anecdotal evidence going back centuries show night as a time of vigilance, celebration and regular interruption. Be it because of burial ceremonies, bed-sharing, after the Church’s canonical hours, or the age-old disruptions of fire, predators, enemies, storms, caring for babies and the sick, our ancestors routinely incurred periods of sleep deprivation.

Dr Tim Hearn at Newnham College, Cambridge, speculates that the ability to withstand sleep deprivation gave our earliest female ancestors an evolutionary advantage. Those who could endure repeated circadian disruption (think newborn baby) and still function made more resilient (and therefore more desirable) partners. Interestingly, several studies into the effects of sleep deprivation have found no adverse effects for women.

Being awake in the middle of the night is quite normal

Sleeping in two chunks was common until the Industrial Revolution, according to historical research carried out by Professor Roger Ekirch. In Mediterranean countries, it was common until very recently, thanks to the siesta. Many Indigenous people still sleep biphasically.

An interval between first and second sleeps was an opportunity for spiritual or creative reconnection, with many journals revealing that praying was a popular middle-of-the-night activity. For women, night was often a valuable, private time when they could study, write, sketch and reflect. Discovering the night paintings of Lee Krasner and Joan Mitchell, the Insomnia Drawings of Louise Bourgeois and the night writings of dozens of authors encouraged me to follow suit.

Meanwhile, I took heart from Prof Roger Wong, of New York’s SUNY Upstate Medical University, who investigated the effects of wakeful nights. Much to his surprise, he discovered that people who spent time awake (known as sleep maintenance insomnia) were 40% less likely to develop dementia than people who slept solidly all night long.

                                                                     Illustration: Simone Massoni/The Observer

Stop fretting that you won’t function

Tied to the tyranny of global capitalism, school timetables and a 24-hour internet, few of us can catch up on our shut-eye the following day. This adds to the anxiety of our wide awake nights: as we toss and turn, we fret that we will be too tired to perform. Granted, we may not feel at our best. But the anxiety we sense at night is rarely reflective of reality. I have given many (error-free) speeches after being awake for 35 hours, I have sat and passed exams after sleepless nights, I have raised four children on a decade of threadbare sleep. I’m still here – and it was never as bad during the day as I imagined it would be during the night. Reminding myself of this helped me shed my next-day-performance anxiety.

Meanwhile, studies indicate that how we perceive our broken sleep can affect how well we perform. Which is to say, if we tell ourselves a short night will have no adverse effects on our performance, we function better than if we repeatedly announce that we can’t think properly because we’ve had a bad night.

Understand that we are wired to ruminate at night

It’s quite normal to catastrophise at night. New studies have revealed that the “mind after midnight” is different from its diurnal counterpart. We have evolved to feel more fearful at night. And because some brain regions go into rest mode, we’re less able to control our emotions, to think in a rational and orderly way. Altered hormones hold sway at night, making us feel less cheerful. Now, when I start catastrophising at night, I remind myself that this is my “after midnight mind” – and things will look very different tomorrow.

Look up and out

Re-thinking my insomnia as a “gift of extra time” was the catalyst for discovering the night sky. I took an astronomy course, got a telescope and used my wakeful nights to study the stars, planets and phases of the moon. I found this both distracting and immensely relaxing. I’m not alone: research carried out by Dr Chris Barnes at the University of Derby has found that looking at the night sky makes us feel calmer, happier and more connected. “It provides a sense of place and purpose within our wider universe, and generally in life,” he said. “Being in a place where you feel comfortable with the darkness is a deeply tranquil and restorative experience.”

When I woke in the night, I often went outside and looked up, returning to sleep with record-breaking speed and ease.

Do something creative

The “mind after midnight” often thinks differently, making wakeful nights a wonderful occasion to explore another side of your brain. Dozens of writers and artists that I interviewed while researching my book said they were more imaginative and creative at night. I started using this time to write poetry and lyrics, an experience that probably processed some of the anxieties that were keeping me awake in the first place. In a recent podcast, sleep guru Matthew Walker noted that insomnia is often a result of lingering emotional issues that weren’t addressed during the day. Purged on to the page, my thoughts and worries ceased to keep me awake and I would drift back to sleep.

Keep it dark

Several studies published in the last few months have revealed the crucial role of darkness and the debilitating place of LED lighting when it comes to sleep. For millennia, homo sapiens slept in the safety of caves or light-less shelters, and our bodies appear to benefit – even today – from low illumination during the evening and none during the night. Darkness enables our bodies to produce melatonin but it also removes the constant arousal that accompanies light. So turn down your lamps, and avoid overhead and blue-rich LEDs during the evening. Invest in blackout blinds and a sleep mask for the night.

Understanding our deep physiological and cognitive need for darkness helped me learn to love its softly soothing shades and hues. When I wake in the night and want to write, I use a candle.

It’s equally important to get plenty of sunlight during the day. But here’s the thing: once I stopped obsessing about insomnia and started enjoying my night-time sojourns, that contrary little devil, sleep, returned.

Annabel Abbs is the author of Sleepless: Discovering the Power of the Night Self, published by John Murray

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jan/16/wake-up-call-six-ways-to-change-your-attitude-to-insomnia 

The 4 Unique Sleep Cycles You Have Never Heard Of

From cnet.com

Sleeping seven hours at a stretch isn't the only way to catch some Zzz's. Here are four alternatives -- and they are pretty obscure 

Science says you can take a guilt-free afternoon nap. No, really. Getting all of your sleep in a single stretch is the most common sleep cycle, but it may be beneficial to split your sleep for some. There could be cognitive benefits to a quick, 15- to 20-minute couch nap when you hit your 3 p.m. slump. 

There are different types of sleep cycles to consider if you have an unconventional schedule or don't need a lot of sleep. Some cycles result in as little as two to four hours of sleep throughout a 24-hour period. You may want to consider the possible downsides of cutting down on your sleep before you drastically change your schedule. 

What is the standard sleep cycle?

The standard sleep schedule is one long slumber, usually at night. This is also called the monophasic sleep cycle. Getting your rest all at once gives your body enough time to go through the various sleep cycles. This approach allows your body to complete the full range of sleep stages, including REM -- also called stage 4, or rapid eye movement. 

Nitat Termmee/Moment/Getty Images

Monophasic 

In modern times, monophasic sleep is the standard cycle. Many experts recommend this sleep schedule because it best aligns with your body's circadian rhythm, which is largely guided by light and dark. This means your brain signals you to wake up when the sun comes up and begins to release melatonin and make you sleepy when it gets dark out. Sleeping in one long stretch also makes it easier for many people to achieve the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per day as an adult. 

Your body goes through four stages of sleep each night. Annie Miller, licensed psychotherapist and sleep expert told CNET, "NREM sleep includes three stages, with Stage 3 (previously known as Stage 4) being the deep restorative phase. Stage 3 sleep is crucial for bodily repair, muscle growth and cognitive functions like memory consolidation. This stage typically begins about 90 minutes into the sleep cycle, though this timing can vary." She continued, "Monophasic sleep, which involves a single, uninterrupted sleep period, increases the likelihood of experiencing sufficient amounts of deep sleep, allowing your body to progress through all sleep stages."

What are alternative sleep cycles?

Getting all of your sleep at once is a relatively modern convention. If you always need a nap at 3 p.m. or you prefer to sleep in three-hour increments throughout the day, you may be tapping into a sleep cycle with a history. Limiting your sleep is not for everyone.  Miller added, "While these alternative sleep cycles may fit certain lifestyles, insufficient total sleep may lead to negative outcomes for some."

Biphasic

Biphasic sleep (sometimes called bimodal sleep) refers to a slumber schedule that is broken up into two parts. This could mean sleeping at night and taking a short nap or 60- to 90-minute siesta in the middle of the day, or breaking up your nightly sleep into two parts. Miller clarified, "This can mean having a longer sleep period at night followed by a shorter nap during the day, or splitting your sleep into two substantial segments within a 24-hour period."

The first sleep/second sleep schedule was common prior to modern lighting and machinery. People would often sleep once for a few hours beginning at about 9 p.m. and then wake up at midnight for a few hours before sleeping again for a larger block of time. 

The benefits of biphasic sleep include cognitive health. If you often experience fatigue and brain fog in the middle of the day, even a short nap can boost cognitive function for the rest of the day. Breaking up sleep into two phases may also better accommodate complicated schedules or morning people who wake before dawn. For people who work unconventional hours or observe specific prayer hours, biphasic sleep can make a lot of sense. Miller added, "However, the effectiveness of this sleep pattern can vary depending on personal needs and lifestyle."

Everyman

If you can get by on less sleep than the average person, the Everyman cycle may work for you. This method requires three solid hours of rest at night and three 20-minute naps throughout the day. You'll get a total of four hours of sleep per day. While this is efficient, Cleveland Clinic warns that consistently falling short of seven to eight hours of sleep could result in sleep deprivation. 

Some people can run on fewer hours of sleep. Miller told CNET that the Everman cycle may work for a group of people called "short sleepers." She stated, "Short sleepers naturally function well on less than six hours of sleep per night. Short sleepers are rare and usually have a genetic predisposition that allows them to maintain cognitive and physical health with reduced sleep."

The Everyman schedule could also be a good short-term option for people who are working long hours or have a new baby. Supplementing a short night-time sleep with multiple naps could keep you more alert and rested until you can resume a more regular schedule. Although, daytime sleep can negatively affect your ability to fall asleep at night for some. 

Dymaxion 

This sleep cycle gives you just two hours of sleep per day. Created by architect and inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller, this cycle mirrors Fuller's work methodology, which was to generate "maximal output from minimal energetic input." The Dymaxion sleep cycle involves getting 30 minutes of sleep every six hours. 

This type of sleep can accommodate long travel schedules or other extreme situations, it also falls far short of recommended sleep hours for adults. 

Uberman

The Uberman cycle was inspired by the Dymaxion model and results in the same amount of sleep, just on a slightly different schedule. This sleep schedule involves six 20-minute naps per day or one nap every four hours. The creator, Marie Straver, said she suffered from insomnia in college, and this sleep schedule helped her get enough rest to be productive throughout the day. 

The Uberman schedule may be good for people who have insomnia or need a short-term solution, but it may not give you enough REM or deep sleep. "The success of this is anecdotal and if you are struggling with insomnia, this would not be an effective way to treat insomnia. Sleeping during the day can lead to further insomnia by reducing your ability to fall asleep at night," Miller stated. 

Drawbacks of biphasic and polyphasic sleep cycles

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A 2022 literature review published in the Journal of Sleep Health found no provable benefits to polyphasic sleep cycles. The researchers concluded that current evidence suggests there may be serious risks. The sleep deprivation caused by polyphasic schedules could lead to a variety of negative outcomes related to mental health, physical health and cognitive performance. 

"While chronic sleep deprivation can have adverse effects, there are some nuanced considerations. For instance, higher sleep drive due to partial sleep deprivation can reduce insomnia and increase restorative deep sleep," warned Miller. "Additionally, controlled sleep deprivation has been explored as a treatment for depression in certain clinical settings. That said, for most people, consistent, ongoing sleep deprivation is likely to be detrimental, impacting overall health and daily functioning."

Notably, these outcomes are related to lack of sleep. If you choose a biphasic or polyphasic sleep schedule that keeps you close to the recommended minimum sleep for adults, you may not experience any negative outcomes. 

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives

https://www.cnet.com/health/sleep/4-unique-sleep-cycles/