Sleep study on modern-day hunter-gatherers dispels notion that we’re wired to need 8 hours a day
Modern life's sleep troubles — the chronic bleary-eyed state that many of us live in — have long been blamed on our industrial society. The city lights, long work hours, commutes, caffeine, the Internet. When talking about the miserable state of our ability to get enough rest, sleep researchers have had a tendency to harken back to a simpler time when humans were able to fully recharge by sleeping and waking to the rhythms of the sun.
It turns out that may not be quite right. In fact, it now appears that our ancestors may not have been getting the doctor-recommended 8 hours of sleep either.
In an intriguing study published in Current Biology this week, researchers traveled to remote corners of the planet to scrutinize the sleep patterns of some of the world's last remaining hunter-gatherers — the Hadza of Tanzania, the San of Namibia, and the Tsimane of Bolivia. Cut off from electricity, media and other distractions, these pre-industrial societies are thought to experience the same sort of natural sleep ancient humans enjoyed more than 10,000 years ago.
Located in a woodland-savannah habitat 2 degrees south of the equator, the Hazda gather their wild foods each day. The San are not migratory but interact very little with surrounding villages and live as hunter-gatherers. The Tsimane, who live close to the Maniqui River, are hunter-horticulturalist.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/10/16/sleep-study-on-modern-day-hunter-gatherers-dispels-notion-that-were-wired-to-need-8-hours-a-day/
