The Sleeping Beauty by William Breakspeare

Before the 1800s - way before laptops, iPhones and even streetlights people went to sleep as soon as it got dark. The darkness lasted for so many hours that sleep was broken into "two sleeps." The first lasting 3-4 hours and then another until sunrise. Somewhere in between, our ancestors socialized, prayed, read by the candlelight, and made children.

Back then two sleeps (also known as segmented sleep, bifurcated sleep and other names) was pretty common, and writers referenced them in their work including Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and Homer's Odyssey.

So next time you wake up in the middle of the night, know that you are simply doing what your ancestors did every night.