The cultural history of sleep
What we associate with sleep is shaped by the culture we live in. Whereas the God of the Bible never sleeps, the sinful human falls asleep every night and is thus marked as an inferior being. In the Age of Enlightenment, (too much) sleep was considered a waste of strength, which could otherwise be used to change the world. These days, sleep seems to be subject to the same tenets of usefulness as everything else and is seen to assist with the optimization of one’s self. However, culture and technology also influence how we sleep: for example, the constant availability of light, the modern conditions of work and all sorts of distractions have meant that we no longer follow our natural rhythm – a first sleep before midnight and a second sleep after a longer period of wakefulness, during which we may be active. In “Good Evening, Good Night”, Karoline Walter uses numerous examples from history, literature and research to illustrate how sleep and sleeping have changed across cultures and eras – an entertaining read, certainly nothing to put you to sleep.
