The Evolution Of Sleep Disturbance Through The Generations [Infographic]

Today it’s recommended that we try and get 8 hours of sleep every night, but in the pre-light bulb era, the perception and practice of sleep was very different.

The pre 1900’s era witnessed an interesting sleeping pattern contrasting to the present day, which involved sleeping for a few hours, waking up and spending this period as leisure time with friends, family, neighbours, or reading and writing prayers and then going back to bed until the morning.

But what prompted the change in segmented sleep and how it was perceived? In short, various distractions have contributed to us staying up later, with the various disturbances evolving over time from street lighting to ‘screens.’

Take a trip through the generations and observe the technologies which have been keeping the nation awake since the 19th Century.

 

The Evolution Of Sleep Disturbance Through The Generations