NEW YEAR & NICTOBIPHASIA—

As the year comes to a close, once again we take a sort of inventory of things wanted, things which developed, things not completed or perhaps not even started and measure our comportment (failures, frustrations or successes) toward each end. It isn’t important that we rehash item by item as the year’s activity belies our degree of satisfaction, not a need to be publicized. It is, however, important for deciding the new year’s applications and the slating of old business and new. I enjoy facing a new year with those things in mind, but this year I choose to just mull it over in my mind and not draw anyone else (especially you readers) into my thoughts.

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. What is the most memorable time you’ve ever had at Christmas on the day, or in a season? I ask that, not to entice you to write me, although I would no doubt enjoy the variety of memories. But, most years when this question arises in the family setting those who recall, being dependent on their own memories, may wind up getting “corrected’ by a sibling’s better memory — and not that it’s really better; more like, not as funny, not as much fun as the first recaller thought. Or made worse or funnier than the teller held it. Hmm, that makes the story telling a bit embarrassing, right? Here’s a better subject to end the year with as well as plan a new year around, perhaps: NICTOBIPHASIA

A few years ago, in earlier writing here as the Elder, I wrote about a rather phenomenal thing which took place for more than 200 years, an event in which I find myself indulging, and that causing me to wonder why it ever stopped being common. Today, as I looked over the several electronic replacements for a newspaper and editorial magazines which crowd my email pages I once again found this old societal event being discussed: A pause ___ in a night’s sleep and it’s common use. Some Insomniac treating Doctors (do they have a “specialty” category) seem to believe it is very healthy and helpful to those who do it, not as a rule, but as it occurs by whatever might bring it about.

When I first found the short history of this event wherein one awakens for a 1 to 3 hour episode in the middle of the night and either lies awake and thinks deep thoughts or arises and participates in more normal activities. Before today I found society referring to this as “Middle Night” or “First sleep-Second sleep” and one group in the southern states saying “from first to last sleep.”

From what I could gather at that time, it made sense to me that it would not be unusual to awaken if the house became too cold to be comfortable, and therefore, the awake one would rise to stoke or rebuild the fire for the rest of the night. It would be irresponsible to just simply go back to bed without regard to safety from the newly built fire in a stove or fireplace, so busying oneself to fill that time would make sense. Or, and especially in the South, when warmer weather came for the long season, it was very common for folks to retire as soon as the night breeze would pickup, cooling down the bedrooms for comfort’s sake. Then, as the night wears on the breeze would abate, causing enough temperature increase to awaken the household who would seek a cooler place — like a front porch or a lawn swing, etc. That was my reasoning.

What appeared to be more common though, were the differing accounts of the activities of these awakened folk. Many would hale their neighbors to come over and help finish the evening meal’s dessert, or just have a cup of tea, or perhaps a short snort of something a little stronger. There were even reports of more than one family playing “mid” night parlor games. Then reading today of the antics of our favorite Uncle….Uncle Ben Franklin, I find a bit more astounding. He, it is often reported that upon awakening, would strip down naked, throw open his windows and wind-bathed his skin! (Bear in mind many old stories get exaggerated the older or more notorious the participants!) …..

Mid night awakenings! Two_Interval Sleep habits.  Let’s do this again. Make 2025 The Year of the__ -Here’s the new descriptive term: Nictobyphasia: nicto—a reference to night or something related to night and biphasic, as having two phases. Nictobiphasia is a word coined by Jerry Lockhart. Congratulations, Jerry! You are now a known Wordsmith! (Segmented sleep, you are now a lost term.)(Isn’t this how new words appear in someone’s dictionary?)

Seriously, I hope 2025 will prepare you for the will of God to come to life in your every endeavor and be pleasing toward His will for your life. Then the results next December will make for glorious reading!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading—the Elder