History of Sleep

Sleeping is no mean art: for its sake one must stay awake all day.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

The history of sleep and dreaming goes back to the BC era, when ancient Greeks and Egyptians were the leading technological force.

The Egyptians thought there was meaning behind dreams. They analyzed dream symbols, searching for prophecies from the gods. As with many Egyptian concepts, the Greeks soon wove this idea into their own culture.

Superstition aside, the Greek philosopher Aristotle actually came up with the first scientific theory of sleep in 350 B.C.

Aristotle wrote: "a person awakes from sleep when digestion is complete".

Actually, this is not true at all. But Aristotle deserves kudos for trying. The rest of the scientific community would ignore the science of sleep for another 2,000 years...

Sleep and dreaming would become one of the most under-researched areas of human behavior.

Circadian Rhythms

In 1729, a French astronomer identified biological rhythms... by tracking the stars! This actually has more to do with sleep and dreaming (including REM patterns) than you may think.

The frivolously named Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan created an experiment that showed Circadian rhythms in plants. The discovery showed how important sleep cycles are to human survival - in fact, we would die without them.

Sigmund Freud

Nearly two centuries later, the history of sleep and dreaming was changed forever. The infamous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud published his controversial book, The Interpretation of Dreams.

The sleep studies of Sigmund Freud revealed that our minds are full of hidden memories and desires. He also believed in a meaning behind dreams - but rather than foretelling the future, they held deeper psychological insights.

Sigmund Freud suggested there was a psychological need for dreaming - just as there was a physiological (bodily) need for sleep.

Soon after, some important advances in technology kick-started a revolution in sleep research. The history of sleep was being remodeled.

Scientists all over Europe began documenting the physiology of sleep, measuring brainwaves with the EEG machine, and linking Rapid Eye Movement (REM) patterns to stages of dreaming.

Sleep Deprivation

In 1959 a New York radio DJ, Peter Tripp, set a world record in sleep deprivation. He stayed awake for 201 hours – that’s just over eight days.

Under the close watch of sleep researchers, he sat in a glass booth in Times Square and broadcast his radio show for three hours each day.

But after a few days he started having hallucinations...

He saw kittens and mice that only existed in his mind. He also grew paranoid – accusing the scientists of secretly trying to harm him. Was this the result of conscious dreaming? Tripp was clearly awake, but the surreal visions exposed his inner dream state.

The sleep deprivation stunt finally ended when Tripp passed out with exhaustion. He slept for 13 hours before returning to a normal sleep pattern.

His friends and family said his personality was never the same after that. He went on to have four divorces and died of a stroke in 2000.

It begs the question – how critical is dreaming to a healthy person? Apparently, we can’t last for more than a few days without sleep and dreaming, lest we lapse into a degenerative state against our will.

And in Tripp's case, the damage to his personality was permanent.

Who Discovered Lucid Dreaming?

Our history of sleep and dreaming is not quite complete. We have to thank the eighth century Tibetan Buddhists for the discovery of lucid dreaming.

They learned how to control dreams with yogic meditation. They used a technique now known as Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming, or WILD to maintain full consciousness while slipping directly into the dream state.

In the modern world, lucid dreaming was first classified in the 1960s by Celia Green. She realised it was a separate state of consciousness and identified the scientific potential. Green was also the first to make the connection with REM sleep and false awakenings.

This was a far cry from the earlier touchy-feely speculation into the meaning of dreams. This was hard fact.

Now, the art of lucid dreaming is available to anyone with a little patience and willpower. If you are learning how to control your dreams, there are natural methods (like improving dream recall) and lucid dream machines like the NovaDreamer to help you on your way.

That is a brief history of sleep and dreaming. To continue learning about the science of sleep and dream analysis, follow the links below.

Sleep Research
History of Sleep
Why Do We sleep?
Sleep Deprivation
Why Do We Dream?
Dream Interpretation