At 06:13 AM 6/8/01 +0000, ginny wilken wrote:
>
>Well, according to the theory, we can get by with less sleep when there is
>more daylight available. The reason we slept more is because it got dark
>and we couldn't do anything else. The advent of fire in caves started a
<snip>

The problem I have with this theory is that during our, er, "formative
years", evolutionarily speaking, we lived in areas where there really
wasn't more than a few minutes difference between winter and summer
day/night length...  so according to this, truly "paleo sleeping" would
mean far more sleep on a regular basis, season be damned...

Then there's the generalized concept that it's prey that generally shuts
down after dark--most predators seem to have more nocternal potential...

But personally, I often sleep odd hours so I have, while not completely
room darkening, certainly room-significantly-dimming curtain/blind
combinations in my bedroom!  I figure it's certainly paleo to sleep when
you want/need to :)

Dianne