A new study suggests that people today are not deprived of sleep compared to the people in the early times. It also proposes that the sleep time of a person is not affected by light, but with the temperature of the surrounding.
The new generation is said to be the busiest group of people ever existed. With modern technologies like smartphones and fast computers, people will more likely have poor sleeping habits compared to the old days. However, scientists have discover that the theory is not always true.
For 40 years, the authors of the research conducted their sleep research in Los Angeles. They were supported by different health institutes like the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging, the National Research Foundation of South Africa, and the National Science Foundation.
The study was conducted by examining the people living in three early human societies in the rural parts of Africa and South America. The three different societies which are the Hadza of Tanzania, the San of Namibia, and the Tsimane of Bolivia were then examined in terms of their sleeping habits.
Investigation reveals that the hunter-gatherer groups were having their rest at less than 6.5 hours a night on an average. It can be observed that they sleep less than the present people even with the absence of electric lights and modern technologies.
Jerome Siegel of the University of California Los Angeles stated that most of the concepts people have about sleeping habits were mainly preconceived ideas.
"We find that contrary to much conventional wisdom, it is very likely that we do not sleep less than our distant ancestors," said the study's senior author.
The researchers also found out that the sleep patterns of the traditional people were mostly affected by sleep temperature and not artificial lights. Insomnia on the ancient times were also rarer compared to the modern days.
