Dr. Merijn van de Laar, a sleep therapist and author of "How to Sleep Like a Caveman," explores sleep based on ancestral practices. He argues that modern sleep troubles stem from societal expectations rather than biology. Van de Laar reveals that hunter-gatherers sleep less yet remain well-rested, sharing insights on sleep cycles, light exposure, and temperature management. He challenges the eight-hour sleep myth, suggests intentional sleep deprivation for better rest, and emphasizes that a relaxed mindset can improve overall sleep quality.
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Merijn's Insomnia Experience
Merijn van de Laar, a sleep therapist, suffered from chronic insomnia for three years.
He felt hopeless from trying to control his sleep, experiencing both onset and maintenance insomnia.
insights INSIGHT
Evolutionary Perspective on Insomnia
Many sleep problems we consider abnormal today may have evolutionary roots.
Staying awake at night could have served as a safety mechanism for our ancestors.
insights INSIGHT
Hunter-Gatherer Sleep Duration
The Hadza tribe in Tanzania sleeps between 6.2 and 6.5 hours per night on average.
They also nap for about 17 minutes every other day.
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How to Sleep Like a Caveman is an in-depth exploration of the science of sleep, drawing from evolutionary biology, archaeology, and modern sleep research. The book, written by sleep scientist Merijn van de Laar, examines how human sleep evolved to suit a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and how these ancient patterns can inform better sleep practices in the modern world. It delves into topics such as episodic sleep patterns, the benefits of communal sleep, and the impact of environmental factors like light and temperature on sleep. Van de Laar's research highlights the discrepancies between our ancestral sleep habits and current sleep-inhibiting behaviors, offering a new framework for thinking about sleep that aligns with our evolutionary wiring.
For several decades, people's reported sleep quality has declined. This, despite the fact that specially optimized sheets, mattresses, and sleep trackers have emerged during that time, and despite the fact that the amount of time people are sleeping hasn't decreased for over fifty years.
In other words, people aren't sleeping less than they used to, but are less happy about their sleep than ever before.
My guest would say that to improve our experience of sleep, we'd be better off looking past the reams of modern advice out there and back in time — way, way back in time.
Today on the show, Dr. Merijn van de Laar, a recovering insomniac, sleep therapist, and the author of How toSleep Like a Caveman: Ancient Wisdom for a Better Night's Rest, will tell us how learning about our prehistoric ancestors' sleep can help us relax about our own. He explains that the behaviors we think of as sleep problems are actually normal, natural, and even adaptive. We talk about why hunter-gatherers actually sleep less than we think we need to, how their natural wake periods during the night might explain our own sleep patterns, the methods they use to get better sleep, and why our modern efforts to optimize sleep could be making it worse. Merijn shares when it's okay to use a smartphone before bed, the myth that you have to get eight hours of sleep a night, how to intentionally use sleep deprivation to improve your sleep, and more.
The Art of Manliness 
