What is the ideal human sleep pattern?

[Erock]

I know that the major consensus around here is that veganism is the ideal human diet. So what exactly is the ideal human sleep pattern? I have a feeling that it is not 8 hours of straight sleep a night, as many humans who sleep this way have sleep problems, and many need caffeine throughout the day just to stay awake. Also, many Americans cannot get to sleep, and spend half the night tossing and turning.

Some people on these forums practice bi-phasic sleeping, polyphasic sleeping, or 90 minute cycles. 85% of mammals sleep polyphasically, but are humans supposed to? Is sleeping straight through the night simply a lifestyle we choose a long time ago, that is unnatural? I know babies sleep polyphasically as well.

So what is the ideal sleep pattern? If we humans lived in the wild, with no society, how would we sleep?

Erock

[Shaden]

We'd sleep how nature intended us to sleep - when the sun goes down the body reacts by releasing a chemical (the name slips my tongue) and we begin to feel drowsy and ready for sleep. This is also coupled by changes in our homeostatic system - temperature - which signal the brain to start releasing the chemicals to induce sleep.

I think therefore there is actually no ideal sleep pattern, since we live in such a nature-defying society. However 7.5 hours of sleep works perfectly for me and I'm only 17 years old. It's possible therefore that as I grow older I might need less and less sleep. I think everybody just has their own ideal sleep pattern and there is no set convention.