I've heard about this before, that prior to ubiquitous artificial lighting, people slept in two blocks of time. What fascinates me is that we seem to have collectively forgotten about it. Only now are researchers going back, as the article says, to old journals and stories, which often mention "second sleep". As someone who has trouble sleeping enough, I'm tempted to try this out some day.
> in about three week’s time, beginning around six hours after sunset each evening<p>At the height of summer the night doesn't even last five hours (northern europe), how would you cope with that?
The article implies that this is some sort of replacement for meditation, yet meditation predates one cycle sleep.<p>Anecdotally I've found that different people need different amounts of sleep, but many people benefit sleeping sooner rather than later. Most people will strongly defend their late sleeping, that they've "tried early sleeping" and it's just not for them. Usually they haven't committed long enough for their body to get used to it.<p>Personally I would rather wake early than stay up late to work on something. At least you're approaching the problem with a clear mind and well rested. Many hours are wasted in the night where people aren't thinking clearly, spinning their wheels on problems which could be solved with a different approach. This only gets worse with age.<p>I'm sure I'll hear accounts of people who are "not morning people". A little exercise in the morning will wake you right up.