{"id":48601,"date":"2025-04-25T13:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=48601"},"modified":"2025-04-25T13:13:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:13:58","slug":"the-second-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=48601","title":{"rendered":"The Second Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let’s talk about the historical phenomenon known as “segmented sleep”<\/strong> or “biphasic sleep.”<\/strong> It was quite common in Europe, especially before the Industrial Revolution. Let\u2019s step back those 350 years and take a look at what was happening in the candlelit hush of a winter night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First Sleep and Second Sleep: A Forgotten Rhythm<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In the 17th and 18th centuries, especially during the long winters when nights stretched up to 14\u201316 hours in northern latitudes, people often practiced a two-part sleep pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. First Sleep<\/strong> \u2013 Typically began soon after nightfall, around 8 or 9 p.m., and lasted until midnight or 1 a.m.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Second Sleep<\/strong> \u2013 Followed a 1- to 3-hour period of wakefulness and then continued until dawn.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    That waking interval<\/strong> in the middle was known simply as \u201cthe watch\u201d or sometimes just \u201cwatching.\u201d It was considered perfectly normal and even useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    What Did People Do During ‘The Watch’?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    This period wasn\u2019t regarded as insomnia\u2014it was productive, peaceful time. Some common activities included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n