I have some better advice to offer: the afternoon siesta is a healthy practice that should never be taken off the list as a viable option in our planning for sleep. Walker (2017, p. 68) writes about this biphasic practice as it is engaged in some societies that closely resemble those of our ancient ancestors:
There is . . . . evidence for a mix of the two sleep patterns (monophasic and biphasic] determined by time of year. Pre-industrial tribes [our ancient ancestors], such as the Hadza in northern Tanzania or the San of Namibia, sleep in a biphasic pattern in the hotter summer months, incorporating a thirty- to forty-minute nap at high noon. They then switch to a largely monophasic sleep pattern during the cooler winter months.
It should be noted that Walker fails to mention that this practice (as a siesta) is still being practiced in many societies—despite the discouragement offered by we Westerners. I wonder about the impact of climate change on these biphasic practices. As many parts of our world become hotter for many months of the year, should we reclaim the afternoon nap? Will we, in turn, begin to stay up later in the evening (enjoying the cooler weather of evening), knowing that part of our sleep will be engaged during the day? Will the practice of taking naps during the day that is now being embraced by some corporations (especially in Japan) become more common? Will special rooms for nap-taking become more common in Western Societies? Will many of us be returning to our childhood practice of nap-taking after lunch (but maybe now in a comfortable bed rather than lying of the floor or a thin pad in the school classroom)? We can await the answers to these questions .
The Four Components of Successful Sleep
In the old days of “hi fi” (am I dating myself?) the super sound was produced by assembling a set of electronic components (turntable, preamp, amp, etc.). The same is the case regarding production of the sleep. I would suggest that we successfully produce sleep when we take into account and assemble four components: (1) healthy daily habits, (2) preparation for sleep, (3) a sleep-enhancing bedroom environment and (4) sleep-inducing or sustaining ingredients. I will be making the case in the following three essays that the first three of these components are critical in producing high-quality sleep. There is no successful sleep without carefully attention to these three components and one or more of the pathways to sleep associated with each component. I will be more reticent about advocating for the fourth component. Sleep aides can certain be of short-term benefit, but as I have already noted and will note repeated in my essay on this fourth component, we need to be careful in choosing any of these component four pathways (especially those that are habit-forming).
While I will have much more to say about each component in the remaining essays, I want to offer a few introductory comments in this essay. To begin with, we should acknowledge that the first component is clearly the most important of the four. To return to my hi-fi analogy, a high-quality amplifier is needed before any high-quality sound is produced. Without a powerful , high-quality amplifier, the sound emanating from the speakers will be inadequate regardless of the money being paid for these speakers. Similarly, without healthy life habits, the other three components only help us get some sleep – but not high-quality sleep. I will be identifying a variety of component one pathways. Some are quite obvious (for example, exercise); others are less obvious and often controversial (for example, consumption of certain foods). This first component is also closely related to a myriad of psychological issues—such as levels of anxiety (what wakes you up at 3am) and drug-addiction (ingestion of mind-altering drugs).
