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tboz | December 30, 2008 08:56 AM | in Society & Culture

How many hours of sleep did people get before electricity?

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BEST ANSWER chosen by asker | teff torbes | December 30, 2008 09:53 AM

According to this presentation, which I can not verify the veracity of, ~10, but the rest of the information in it seems sound.

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/craig-31369-healthysleep-Healthy-Sleep-101-Body-Temperature-Hormones-Blood-Pressure-Stages-Average-Hours-Imp-as-Entertainment-ppt-powerpoint/

The bit about how much people slept is on page 10.

Also see the references linked. They all claim similar numbers and have more potentially useful information.

source(s):
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/10/16/10-reas...

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2078

http://www.smsmallbiz.com/bestpractices/The_Power_of_Sleep.html

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tracebooks | January 01, 2009 04:34 AM

From all the literature I've read, it was pretty common to head to bed shortly after the sun set, and get up just as the sky began to get light. This was partly to save fuel for heat (it's colder when the sun sets) and partly to conserve fuel for light and was especially true where people had to make their own candles or where kerosene was more expensive.

Thus, depending on how far from the equator people were, it would vary according to the length of the days. Perhaps that's the reason for Little Boy Blue being asleep in the hay: maybe he was in Scotland in high summer and only had had a few hours' sleep!

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