#162 -Sleep in the Gilded Age: If You Know Your History

In our modern world of blue light and burnout, it’s easy to forget that sleep has always been shaped by the forces of its time. In this episode, we travel back to the Gilded Age—a period of dazzling progress, deep inequality, and curious beliefs about sleep. In thenis episode, we will:Explore how medical professionals in the late 19th century understood sleep—and misunderstood insomniaLearn what physicians were prescribing to sleepless patients in an era of opium, electricity, and moral fatigueContrast the sleep practices of the working poor and the wealthy elite, and how each class shaped our modern assumptionsExamine the “rest cure,” neurasthenia, and other diagnoses born from a world grappling with industrial changeDiscover the surprising technologies and bedding innovations that started appearing in Gilded Age bedroomsReflect on how beliefs from this gilded era still echo in our bedrooms today—from sleep hygiene to the fear of lying awakeProduced by: Maeve WinterMusic by: Dr. Abhinav Singh (@sleep_vigilante), all rights reservedMoreTwitter: @drchriswinterIG: @drchriwinterThreads: @drchriswinterBluesky: @drchriswinterThe Sleep Solution and The Rested ChildThanks for listening and sleep well!