How to Sleep Like a Caveman Hardcover

Sleep Like Our Ancestors: A Modern Guide to Better Rest

Sleep has remained fundamentally the same since Paleolithic humans snoozed soundly in their caves. While sabre-toothed tigers were their biggest night-time worry, today’s culprits are stress and social media. Yet, the solutions remain timeless. Sleep therapist Dr. Merijn van de Laar provides understanding and actionable advice to help you sleep better within weeks.

How to Get a Better Night’s Sleep in 3 Weeks:

• Don’t believe everything you read or hear about sleep
• Let go of the 8-hour rule
• Use the simple sleep diary in the back of this book to record your sleep pattern over 3 weeks
• Discover your personal sleep needs
• Examine your attitude towards lying awake at night
• Shorter total bed times might be better
• Focus on the reason for lying awake rather than on the reason for not sleeping
• Reduce stress
• Keep regular bedtimes
• Follow the rules of nature
• Respect your personal circadian rhythm
• Don’t tempt the night-time ghosts

Human sleep, as we know it today, evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago to suit a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. While it’s not always compatible with our modern lives, sleep remains an essential function—vital for our health, well-being, and daytime performance. In this ground-breaking book, Dr. Merijn van de Laar delves into the origins of sleep based on archaeological findings and anthropological studies of contemporary hunter-gatherers. He explores the major discrepancies between our primordial bodily needs and our current sleep-inhibiting behavior.

Learning from Ancient Wisdom

Cave dwellers lived in harmony with the forces of nature. They adapted seamlessly to environmental factors such as light, temperature, and seasonal changes. Their eating habits and daily movements positively influenced their sleep quality.

By following their example, we can improve our sleep by adjusting:

• Eating habits
• Exercise routines
• Exposure to light
• Temperature control
• Expectations towards sleep

By embracing the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, we can enhance the quality of our sleep in the way our bodies were designed to function.