The Ancient Practice of Sleeping Twice a Night

Before artificial lighting, people didn’t sleep in one long stretch—they had two separate sleep periods.

Historical records show that many cultures practiced biphasic sleep, sleeping for a few hours, waking up around midnight to talk, read, or pray, then going back to sleep until morning. This pattern was common until the 19th century, when electricity and longer workdays forced a shift to one uninterrupted sleep cycle.