In honour of World Sleep Day 2017, an annual event that is both a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important sleep-related issues, we are thinking about what we in the 21st century can learn from early modern approaches to sleep. Recently sleep, or more accurately the lack of sleep, has been … More Early Modern Tips For A Good Night’s Sleep
Welcome to ‘How we used to sleep’ – a collaborative project between the University of Manchester and The National Trust’s Little Moreton Hall – funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project will run throughout 2017 and will offer a unique insight into sleep’s fascinating and complex history. The project stems from Dr … More How We Used to Sleep
In my last post ‘Sleep, Health and History’ I described the importance of healthy sleep to the long-term health of body and mind within early modern medical culture. Sleep was an essential restorative of health but it was also a time of vulnerability and danger where natural and supernatural threats had to be countered. These … More Cow’s dung, ash-boughs and rose petals, or how to sleep safely in early modern England
In my last post, ‘Does sleep have a history?,’ I set out some of the lessons that history can offer about how sleeping habits and sleep-quality are shaped by the societies, cultures and environments in which we live. Sleep’s importance to physical and mental health has been recognised by most individuals and societies throughout history … More Sleep, Health and History
This is the first in a series of blog posts in which the historian, Dr Sasha Handley, reflects on what history can tell us about the meaning, practice and quality of human sleep. ******* When I first contacted the editor of my new book, ‘Sleep in Early Modern England’, to pitch my project, my email … More Does sleep have a history?
Histories of Sleep explores the latest research into sleeping habits throughout the ages. Sleeping hours, sleeping environments, sleeping postures and bedtime routines have been heavily shaped by different socio-cultural forces in a wide variety of historical contexts. Histories of Sleep invites contributions from those pursuing research into these themes and from those with a more … More
Histories of Sleep 