[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] The Bed Trapped by the Alarm

Brian Fagan's 'The World History on the Bed'
Is Sleep an Immoral Habit as Edison Said...

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"A bed is not furniture. It is science." ㅇㅇㅇ Bed made huge profits with this advertising phrase. It successfully stimulated consumer psychology by modifying the old Italian proverb "sleep is medicine." Since ancient times, people have regarded sound sleep as the key to health. William Vaughan, a Welsh writer, wrote in his 1612 booklet "Verified Health Care" as follows: "Sleep strengthens the mind and relaxes the body. It calms bodily fluids, relieves sorrow, and soothes anger."

The place where physical and mental changes occur is the bed. People in the Victorian era of the 19th century decorated their surroundings with familiar objects. Before falling asleep, they prayed while looking at religious images embroidered on their bedding. This is a sight rarely seen today. Sleep is simply considered a process of relieving fatigue. Even if they dream, they keep it to themselves. Thus, the time spent on the bed has become a blank space.

"A World History on the Bed," written by Brian Fagan, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, is a humanities book that fills in the missing puzzle pieces. It details the evolution of the bed and the numerous activities humanity has undertaken on it. Covering themes across time and space, it tells various stories related to the bed’s role as well as ethnicity, culture, religion, customs, and values. These are phenomena often overlooked in modern society, where everyone must live according to a fixed schedule.

Modern people sleep and wake up on time within a strict timetable. They regard sleep simply as a product that is good if used a lot. This idea has been culturally instilled since childhood. They must wake up according to school schedules and are punished if they oversleep.

Thomas Jefferson (1743?1826), the third president of the United States and a fervent advocate of industrialization, regarded universal schooling as a core requirement of a democratic republic. In other words, it was a process to prepare the next generation to follow the relentless schedules of the workplace.

Before the advent of pocket watches, time cards, and train timetables, sleep was free. If one went to bed late, waking time was also late, and a second sleep would follow. For example, in "The Canterbury Tales" by English writer Geoffrey Chaucer (1343?1400), Princess Canace of the Tartar kingdom falls asleep as soon as the sun sets and wakes early in the morning. Meanwhile, her fellow pilgrims stay awake late and sleep until midday.

The quality of sleep may be better now. Thanks to public lighting and various security services, sleeping time has become much safer. The author says, "Although there are all kinds of sleep problems today, feeling safe is beneficial for sleep." "According to sleep scientists, pet cats and horses for livestock sleep more when protected in a house or stable. Perhaps modern sleep loss is a result of balancing out such lost benefits."

Some argue that sleep deprivation improves productivity. In fact, many leaders such as Bill Clinton and Donald Trump do not sleep for long hours. Great generals in history like Hannibal (247?183 BC) and Napoleon I (1769?1821) were praised for sleeping little. Winston Churchill (1874?1965) also went to bed late and slept only four hours. Instead, he took naps during the day and often held meetings with generals and ministers in bed. He even devised strategies to defeat Adolf Hitler (1889?1945) while in bed.

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People commonly feel distress when they do not get enough sleep. Churchill called it the "black dog." There are groups who have no health problems even with only four hours of sleep a day. Thomas Edison (1847?1931), the "inventor king," is a representative example. He distanced himself from those who thought more sleep was necessary. He wrote in the American daily New York Times: "In the future, people will spend less time in bed, and in a million years, they will not sleep at all. Sleep is an absurd and immoral habit. Too much sleep harms human efficiency more than anything else in this world." He was 80 years old at the time.

How long should we stay in bed? The author does not suggest an appropriate time. He only hopes that everyone’s sleep returns to pre-industrial times. A world where people do not reach for sleeping pills or panic at alarm clocks. He emphasizes that the best is to maintain bedtime by working on one’s own. "Those who think natural sleep habits are biphasic can wake up at night and do as they please. (...) Anyway, there are many things you can do in bed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.