Did humans evolve to be active throughout the day and night

 

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Joel Kontinen

Evidence from hunter-gatherers suggests humans aren't diurnal but cathemeral throughout the day and night? with bouts of activity at nighttime – a sleep pattern similar to some lemurs.

Did early men also work  during the night? According to evolution, we have a shared ancestor, but humans are very different from lemurs.

Humans are generally considered diurnal, or mainly active during the day, but this may not be strictly accurate. Data from hunter-gatherers suggests they are fairly active at night, and don’t simply rest and sleep after the sun goes down.

This finding means that the human sleep pattern is closer to that of some lemur species, says David Samson at the University of T oronto in Canada, author of The Sleepless Ape. Instead of being primarily active in the day and restful at night, humans may be “cathemeral”, meaning they spread their activities throughout each 24-hour period. “The key point is that day and night activity are both regular parts of the behavioural repertoire,” says Samson.

 Source

 Michael Marsh 2026 Did humans evolve to be active throughout the day and night? | New Scientist 18 August