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Festival of Sleep Day
January 3
We’ve been enjoying forty winks ever since the human race came into existence, but we haven’t always understood it. Early speculation by the Ancient Greeks about the reason for sleep was that it is due to lack of circulation, causing the body to become unconscious for a period of time while it rebalanced. Theorists were divided at first on whether this was due to the brain or the heart, which were known to be the two most important organs.
Back then, #Sleep was separated into a first and second sleep of the day, instead of the single long stretch we enjoy today. In the interlude between sleep, people would socialize and relax. This routine stayed the same for centuries but was disrupted by the Industrial Revolution and the invention of artificial light, which allowed for a longer working day and therefore pushed together the periods of sleep. The socializing section of the day was moved to before bed instead.
The desire for success in the newly industrialized world would eat into the sleeping time of many workers and businesspeople, as it continues to do today. A new regulation was introduced by Ford in 1926, when it became the first American company to provide employees with a fixed schedule of an eight-hour working day and a 40-hour working week, allowing those on the payroll to get to bed on time.
Festival of Sleep Day is a modern-day celebration, supposedly invented to help us recharge our batteries from all the lost sleep around the festive season at the end of the year. It reminds us to practice self-care for the coming year and take advantage of the numerous benefits of a good night’s sleep.
#FestivalOfSleepDay #SelfCare