{"id":32686,"date":"2024-01-23T10:42:38","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T09:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=257259"},"modified":"2024-01-23T11:11:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T10:11:39","slug":"life-hacks-from-history-get-a-good-nights-sleep","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/life-hacks-from-history-get-a-good-nights-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Life hacks from history: get a good night\u2019s sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being able to enjoy eight hours\u2019 straight slumber is today seen as something of a superpower. But, as Justin Pollard reveals, attitudes to sleep and its medical importance have evolved over the centuries… <\/p>

By Justin Pollard\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 23 January 2024 at 09:42 AM<\/p>

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In our modern 24\/7 world, it can sometimes seem as if we\u2019ve finally finished the job Macbeth<\/a> started, and murdered sleep. But surely the lazy days of history can provide some tips for enjoying a restful night of slumber?<\/p>\n

One advantage enjoyed by our ancestors was that nights were darker and quieter in the past. Even so, people did suffer from sleep problems. We know from Egyptian medical papyri that drugs extracted from the opium poppy, belladonna and nightshade were available, all of which could help with slumber \u2013 but also, if taken incautiously, cause a more final and permanent rest.<\/p>\n

Ancient ideas<\/h3>\n

The ancient Greeks<\/a> thought a lot about the subject, too. Hypnos, the god of sleep, makes his first known appearance in Book 14 of Homer\u2019s Iliad. Sleep also formed the basis of medical treatment at the temples of Asklepios. The sick were brought to sleep at these sites where, during the night, they would be treated with drugs by priests. Dreaming of Asklepios, patients would wake up cured. Or so the theory went.<\/p>\n

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Struggling to drop off? In ancient Greece you might pray to Hypnos, god of sleep, depicted in this first or second-century AD bronze. (Photo by Art Images via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The ancient Greeks also pondered the factors that make for a good night\u2019s sleep. Aristotle thought that ingested food emitted fumes, which entered the brain through blood vessels, causing sleepiness. (Interestingly, recent studies of several foods such as walnuts and fatty fish suggest that they do promote sleep.)<\/p>\n

Democritus of Abdera thought that insomnia was caused by an unhealthy diet \u2013 and modern sleep specialists also urge us to avoid consuming some substances, particularly in the hours before bed. As long ago as the 17th century, English physician Sir Thomas Willis noticed that strong coffee<\/a> seemed to keep him awake.<\/p>\n

Assuming we\u2019ve dosed up on walnuts and avoided coffee, how long should we sleep? In the late 12th century, Moses ben Maimon \u2013 also known as Maimonides, and the most influential Jewish physician working in the Arab world \u2013 suggested that a single period of eight hours\u2019 sleep, ending just before sunrise, was the perfect amount.<\/p>\n

Recent studies suggest that, through much of the pre-modern period, the norm was not one sleep a night but two. The idea of \u2018first sleep\u2019 and \u2018second sleep\u2019 appears in numerous medieval and early modern diaries and letters, and is mentioned in Chaucer<\/a>\u2019s Canterbury Tales<\/em>. This \u2018biphasic sleep\u2019 was recorded across the world, in Africa and Australia as well as Europe. First sleep, lasting a couple of hours, was usually taken between 9pm and 11pm, depending on the season. After this came a wakeful period known as \u2018the watch\u2019, which could be filled with letter-writing or praying \u2013 a quiet and contemplative time of day.<\/p>\n