Guess what?  You are normal, doing what your body was designed to do!

There is scientific research on this up.  Some call it shift sleeping or segmented sleep. For example, you might find yourself asleep from 11:16pm to 2:45am, then awake for a chunk of time and back to sleep at 4:13am.  The technical term for this is biphasic sleep. Roger Ekirch references these studies in his book, At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past. This type of sleep has only increased in prevalence during the Pandemic.

Our ancestors long ago did this. They would wake up in the early morning to snack (remember to include a protein with your carbs), do chores, lay awake, meditate, have sex, etc., and then go back to sleep for a few hours. It was not until the Industrial Revolution that our sleep patterns changed. 

Now we are told if we are not getting at least 7 hours a night, something is wrong, – not necessarily.  Ekirch references humans in ancient Greece through the mid 1700’s, may have had the right idea about sleep..

What will you be doing at 3am tomorrow?  If you are awake, don’t beat yourself up. It is natural and pretty typical.  You are not alone.