I heard that in nature, humans were getting up when the sun raises , does that mean that they were sleeping much longer on winter?

Question

I heard that in nature, humans were getting up when the sun raises , does that mean that they were sleeping much longer on winter?

In: 2669

Answer 1

There has been increased speculation that this concept is inaccurate at describing the whole picture.

Just as we have people today who function better at different time-frames of the day, it is likely that our ancestors sleep schedule also varied between individuals. Some have even posited that the night-owls of today are a direct result of some of our ancestors keeping watch during the dark hours of the day.

I’ve not seen anything near conclusive, but it makes sense that those living a more primitive and dangerous lifestyle would include individuals tasked with over-night security and camp maintenance. Fires are much easier to keep lit than to light, and many predators across the world are nocturnal.

Again, this is speculation as far as I’m aware, and I can’t imagine how such a suggestion would be proven or disproven, but it would explain why some people inherently function better at night.