Right from the time, we can remember, we’ve been told that a good night sleep is 8 hours long. Every overworked professional and busy parent would wail at the fact that they can almost never get that many hours of sleep at one stretch. Unfortunately, not many are aware that the eight-hour block of sleep is one of the most prevalent myths of our times.
As unique as each human being is so is every human being’s brain functioning patterns. Scientific studies keep warning us about the lack of monophasic sleep (sleep that spans 8 hours at a stretch) and its dire consequences on health. However, variations are prone to happen and are not always bad for health.
5 Different Types Of Sleep
According to the National Sleep Foundation, there are 5 different sleep patterns of which monophasic is common but 4 alternate sleeping cycles are practised by individuals across the world.1
- Monophasic Sleep- Commonest pattern where we sleep for 6-8 hours at a stretch. Developed as a result of long working hours
- Biphasic Sleep- Sleeping for about 3-4 hours then waking up for an hour and sleeping for 3-4 hours again
- Dymaxion Sleep- Schedule- Sleeping for 30-minute every 6 hours
- Uberman Schedule- Sleeping for 30-minute only but 6 times in a day
- Everyman Schedule- A daily three-hour sleep along with three 20-minute naps
Why Is It Ok To Wake Up In The Middle Of The Night?
Researchers claim that waking up to 2-4 times in your sleep is alright. Most of the time, people wake up to attend nature’s call and go back to sleep right away. The circadian rhythm falls and rises at different times of the day, based on which we tend to fall asleep. usually, it falls during the wee early morning and late afternoon hours.
In a healthy individual, the sleep cycle lasts for 90 minutes and it gets repeated the entire stretch of time in a 6-8hour sleep. Light sleep is followed by deep sleep then REM sleep and usually these stages transition without waking us up. However sometimes when we shift from one stage of sleeping to the other, we end waking up and often at the same time every night. Often, we get frustrated when the alarm was set at 7 am but we are wide awake by 2 am itself. But, there’s nothing to fret about it, as that’s just the sleep mechanism working their way. Best thing to do is relax and go back to sleep without switching on the phone/TV/lights.2
When To Seek Help For Your Middle-Of-The-Night Awakenings?
If you observe the following patterns then, you should seek expert help.
- Are you waking up at least three nights a week?
- Is it taking more than 30 minutes to get back to sleep?
- Has it been happening for 30 days or more?
If you answer yes to one or more of these questions then you need to seek the help of an expert or adopt lifestyle changes. Researchers claim that interrupted sleep is as damaging as no sleep at all.3
What’s the Best Sleep Pattern?
It is a very subjective question and varies based on the lifestyle choices and health status of individuals. Although, it’s important to note that no matter how long you sleep, you should feel well-rested once you wake up.
Follow your sleep pattern religiously every day. A majority of us have our sleep patterns revolving around our work schedules. Socializing, parenting and hectic work schedules can all mess with our sleep times, but don’t defer from sticking to a sleeping pattern that is best-suited for you, whether it’s monophasic or polyphasic.
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