Tuesday, November 17, 2015

(23) The Caffinated Enlightenment

      In Caffeine and the Coming of the Enlightenment, Roger Schmidt eloquently defends his thesis that “caffeine, books, and mechanical clocks disrupted irrevocably the ancient architecture of human sleep, and with its collapse, the angels and their odd companions began to depart” (Schmidt 133). The major components of Schmidt’s argument is the role that caffeine, books, and mechanical clocks played in the transformation of sleep. The first major element that brought a change to sleep was the introduction of caffeine into daily life. Schmidt says, “Caffeine fuels insomnia as it simultaneously attempts to alleviate the symptoms” (137). In the fight against sleep, caffeine was used at all hours of the day in order to combat exhaustion and focus into the wee hours of the night. The primary activity that then consumed the night was reading, for business and pleasure. Reading, a task that was formerly too monotonous to keep a scholar awake through the night was overcome through artificial stimulation received through teas and coffees. A catalyst to this superfluous reading was the new perception of “time as something that spends itself out, never to return again” (Schmidt 138). Time became something measurable, available to all through clocks and wristwatches, and people began to carefully plan the use of their time. Schmidt also describes being baffled by the lack of research on the history of sleep given the amount of clinical research that has been dedicated to the subject. That is what drove him to find out the history of sleep and why it changed from what our ancestor's experienced.

Sources:
http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/juliane-mendelsohn/7871-a-new-philosophy-for-the-21st-century
Schmidt, Roger.  “Caffeine and the Coming of the Enlightenment.”  Raritan 23.1 (2003): 129-49.  EBSCO, 2003.  Web.

(22) Will the Colder Weather Help Me Sleep?

Well, it looks as if winter is nearly upon us! The massive cold front has blown in from Colorado, and I even heard some people mention that we could see some snow, that would be cool!

Along with the dropping outdoor temperature, the temperature in my room is also dropping even more than before! The seals on the windows are old and cracking, I can hear the wind whistling when it blows hard; I also see little piles of dust on the floor by the window, making it obvious there is a leak.

Anyways, I don't mind the cool air. It means I get to bundle up more before bed, so that I can create a cocoon of warmth amidst the cold air. I feel like I sleep better when it is cold out, assuming that I have enough layers to keep myself warm.

Is anyone else looking forward to the colder weather?

Thursday, November 12, 2015

(Class Blog) How Has Sleep Changed?

Sleep has come a long way in 300 years! Author Roger Ekirch believes that in the past sleep was divided into two segments each night. There was an hour or so of wakefulness in-between the first and second sleep segment. Historical medical books "frequently advised sleepers, for better digestion and more tranquil repose, to lie on their right side," during their first sleep and then to switch to their left side during their second sleep segment. (Ekirch 366).

In religion, the Catholic Church promoted early morning prayers amongst its followers, so that they could speak with, "God during the still hours of the night" (Ekirch 366). This practice was seen as favorable so that there was nothing else going on to bother the praying man or woman. It would only be you and God together in the middle of the night.

Since the middle ages our human culture has changed because of technology. Artificial light and caffeine give people the ability to stay up longer than ever before. More people around the world are now "night owls" as opposed to being a "morning person." In the middle ages, daylight meant work time, but now a majority of the work is no longer manual labor and can be carried on into the night. While more people do stay awake at night, the darkness still represents the same thing it did centuries ago, mischief. It is a common saying, "nothing good happens after midnight." It is as true today as it was in the past. People who stay up into the AM seem to have an inclination to cause trouble no matter where they are.

Source:
Ekirch, A. Roger.  “Sleep We Have Lost:  Pre-industrial Slumber in the British Isles.” The
      American Historical Review 106, no. 2 (2001): 363-386.

Friday, November 6, 2015

(21) Sleep has Always Been Important

In the article Sleep We Have Lost: Pre-Industrial Slumber in the British Isles, author Roger Ekirch makes his mission clear, "to explore the elusive realm of sleep in early modern British society," and to uncover the truth of pre-industrial sleep (pg. 344). Ekirch opens his article with the belief that when the bastille of modern society is escaped and forgotten, man is taken back to the natural. In the context of sleep, there "is one stirring hour," of wakefulness that naturally occurs at night, "when all the outdoor world are on their feet" (pg. 343).

What Ekirch is trying to prove is that before the industrial revolution sleep was thought of differently than it is today. While it was considered as equally important as today, historically many the people of the British Isles revered sleep. Partly because once the sun set there was little light afforded to the poorer of society. The common bedtime of the period was 10pm in the summer and 9pm in the winter, with the average sleep times ranging between six and eight hours. However, it is thought that these six to eight hours would have been better quality sleep than six to eight hours today. The "evening silence coupled with overpowering darkness contributed to unusually peaceful repose, as did the fatigue ordinary men and women suffered from their labors" (pg. 358).

Overall, Ekirch makes a strong argument that sleep could have been better before the industrial era. I wonder if he'll completely win me over in the second half of the article.



Source:
Ekirch, A. R. (2001). Sleep We Have Lost: Pre-Industrial Slumber in the British Isles. American Historical Review, 343-363.

 

(20) I Can Tell I'm Running on a Sleep Debt

Friday is a day that I look forward to all week. I have no classes, few obligations, and lots of free time. It is the first (sometimes the only) day of my weekend.

Every Friday is pretty much the same, waking up at the regular time in order to make it to work at 8am. Work ends in the mid-morning so I head back to campus. In my room I plan out my day. Most of the time I don't have to be anywhere until the late afternoon. Once I realize I am free to do as I please I hear it... from across the room it calls to me. My bed! Like a moth to a light I can't help but gravitate in its direction. I fight the though, but on Friday my bed always wins, but only for 15 minutes. And then another 30 minutes, just another 15 minutes and that's it. My plan for a quick power nap turns into a two hour slumber!

By the end of the week I just can't resist the urge to catch up on sleep. Rather than continue to fight my urges, I think in the future I should just plan on a two hour nap so that I can get a full cycle in and make up some of the time that I have lost throughout the week. So next week I am going to plan on using Friday as a recharge day so that I am sharp for work at Reagor-Dykes on Saturday!