(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.