Ring the bell for Matins: circadian adaptation to split sleep by cloistered monks and nuns.
Chronobiology international December 1, 2011 Isabelle Arnulf, Agnès Brion, Michel Pottier et al.
Cloistered monks and nuns adhere to a 10-century-old strict schedule with a common zeitgeber of a night split by a 2- to 3-h-long Office (Matins). The authors evaluated how the circadian core body temperature rhythm and sleep adapt in cloistered monks and nuns in two monasteries. Five monks and five nuns following the split-sleep night schedule for 5 to 46 yrs without interruption and 10...