Lavender oil or valerian root drops? Sleeping pills or natural supplements? A candlelit soak in a steaming hot tub or yoga nidra, followed by a sound bath? Whether harnessing ancient practices aimed at reaching a state of deep relaxation, tapping into the stress-busting properties of aromatherapy or adding wellness remedies to a bedtime routine, it seems as if we’re increasingly doing all we can to ensure a decent night’s shut-eye.
Yet what we consider to be a ‘normal’ rest pattern of between seven and nine hours is a relatively new concept. Before the Industrial Revolution, documents record biphasic sleeping – slumber divided into two halves over 24 hours, usually with a brief awake period in between – as being typical in many countries around the world. It even has a mention in Homer’s eighth-century epic The Odyssey, which refers to the ‘first sleep’. Then, in 1879, the lightbulb was invented. Artificial illumination triggered a shift in lifestyles. People began to stay up later, condensing sleep into a single long stretch (the exception, of course, being places such as Spain, where in some parts the traditional afternoon siesta is still observed).
