A STUDY OF SLEEP
It’s 3:30 in the morning. Tomorrow is a busy day. You went to bed at 10:00. You need to get up at 6:00 in the morning. But you woke up in the middle of the night and you can’t fall back asleep! You’re frustrated. Why can’t you sleep properly?
There may be a surprising answer. Dr. Thomas Wehr did some research on sleep. During the winter, he put people in a room with no artificial light (there was no light from lamps, TVs, or computers). Then he studied the people’s sleep patterns.
What happened? The people went to bed, but they didn’t fall asleep right away. Most were awake for two hours. Next, the people slept for four to five hours. Then they woke up and they stayed awake and were active for four to five hours.
Dr. Wehr discovered a new sleep pattern. But maybe it’s not new. In the past, before electric light, perhaps people slept this way. Nowadays, we sleep in a different way.
So, the next time you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep, relax! Your sleep patterns may be normal after all!