Introduction

We often take for granted society's current sleep schedule. If you're like most people, you sleep about 8 hours a day in one chunk between the hours 10 PM and 8AM or there abouts. But our guest today reminds us that sleep always wasn't like that. In fact, it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that that idea of sleep became the norm. In his book The Slumbering Masses, Dr. Michael J. Wolf-Meyer takes a look at the anthropology of sleep and explores how modern conceptions of sleep drives an entire sleep industry as well as stimulant industry-- coffee and energy drinks. A fascinating discussion.