How many hours of sleep was normal 2000 years ago?

2000 years ago is the time of the Romans.

This era is famous for the following saying: Carpe Diem. This translates to “Seize the day” and is a good example of the Roman view on sleeping.

Sleeping was viewed as not much more than a necessity. This is further evident from the cubicula, the small Roman bedrooms. These rooms had low ceilings and few decorations. Although the cubiculum of a noble family could be decorated with mosaics, it would still be a crampy room. It was given little importance in a Roman villa.

While sleeping, the Romans could not conquer anything. They could not build roads or aqueducts. One source I found, suggests most Romans rose before dawn and probably slept less than 8 hours. This is confirmed by another source, which further states that people who slept in were viewed with contempt, since they were likely drunk (or at least: people would think so). This source goes on to suggest that the Romans slept in two phases, the first one of “up to 4 hours” and the second one of “six hours”. This biphasic sleep is confirmed by some other sources.

People would go to sleep at sunset and wake before sunrise. It is not really clear how much time people would stay awake in between both phases. Some sources claim it was considered to be the perfect time for studying or having sex and that people would stay awake for “one hour” up to “several hours”. Virginia Tech professor Ekirch also claims it was a “busy time”.

To conclude: the Romans most likely slept in two phases and their total hours of sleep depended mostly on how active they were in between these phases. This would vary for each individual. However, in general the Romans were quite active, as evident from the Carpe Diem saying and the discomfort of their bedrooms.

In prehistoric times, sleeping could be very dangerous and you needed a lot of time daily to gather food and resources or to hunt.

So if you can sleep 8–9 hours straight tonight with no consequences to your survival or work efficiency, count yourself lucky!



Source: https://www.quora.com/How-many-hours...2000-years-ago


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