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C

By taking part in these activities

after their “first sleep” people would

feel tired again and would then enjoy

a “second sleep”, before they would

eventually wake up to a new day.

In his essay, “Segmented Sleep in Preindustri-
Segmented Sleep Across Different Coun- al Societies”, Ekirch provides some references such
tries and Cultures as the writings of a French priest André Thevet, on
traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1555, who
In the preindustrial era, people typically slept reports that “the Tupinamba Indians ate whenever
for a few hours, woke up for another few hours of they had an appetite, even at night after their first
quiet activities, and then slept again until the sleep they get up to eat and then return to sleep.”
morning. This segmented sleep pattern was known Another example takes us back to the early
as first sleep and second sleep. 19th century, when residents of Muscat, the capital
Ac c o rd i n g to h i s to r y p ro f e s s o r, A . R o g e r of Oman, were said to “retire early, lying down
Ekirch, author of “At Day’s Close: Night in Times before 10 o’clock, so that before midnight their
Past”, after a long day spent working, our ancestors first sleep was usually over.”
would use the time between first and second sleep
for all sorts of things, from reading and writing to A Time of Change Brings a Change of Time
eating and making love.
Waking up in the night was not considered While people across the world were enjoying
unusual or abnormal. By taking part in these activ- their first and second sleep, a change was happen-
ities after their “first sleep” people would feel tired ing in Europe and North America. The Industrial
again and would then enjoy a “second sleep” before Revolution was in full swing and people’s sleep
they would eventually wake up to a new day. patterns were about to be drastically altered. To
This practice was common across preindustri- this day, the Industrial Revolution is considered
al Europe and North America and can be found in one of the most important periods in human his-
other cultures and continents, including the Middle tory. It was a time when machines replaced manu-
East, Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, al labor, mass production became possible and new
and Latin America. technologies emerged.

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