When and how we sleep has implications for everyone

Sleep is also public!
 When and how we sleep has implications for everyone else
o Family : Availability, disturbing others’ sleep, being sleep deprived
o Society : Availability to work, productivity, need for a safe place to sleep, not
disturbing others
 Sleep is regulated by society
o When, how, and even with whom people sleep has been regulated
 Norms: General rules for social conduct
o Sleep at night and don’t be a zombie
o Don’t bother others while you sleep
 Mores: Strong prescriptions for social behavior
o Don’t sleep at work or school
 Laws: Rules with legal consequences
o Doctors/drivers have to sleep every so often
o YOu can’t sleep on the street, in public places
Sleep as Social
 All societies had to organize how people sleep!
 When we sleep
o Generally not during the day, but at night
o If during the day, at “siesta” time
 Where we sleep
o In our own “home” with family, or privately
 How we sleep
o We sleep on a bed, dressed and covered
 Who we sleep with
o We sleep with romantic partners/family/friends/strangers ....

Being asleep has social implications
 Sleeping people are vulnerable
o Easy to steal off a sleeping person
o Easy to harm or kill
 Sleeping people are dangerous
o May harm self or others in sleep
 Sleepy people are vulnerable
o Soldiers may be caught off guard
o Drivers may kill themselves
 Sleepy people are dangerous
o Drivers may kill themselves
o Sleep-deprived doctors, police, and soldiers may harm others
The “Sleeper” Role
 Sleep : Radical severance from conscious demands of the waking world
o Makes sleep socially negotiated and regulated role
o Sleep comes with rights and responsibilities
 The “Sleeper” Role
1. Right to periodic remission at certain times (night) in certain places (home)
2. Lack of normal obligations while asleep (don’t have to talk or work)ea
3. Freedom from disturbance while sleeping
 Rights for the sleeper
 Obligation for those awake
 Biological state of sleep
o Physiological state with no consciousness and responsivity
 Social State of Sleep
o Assuming the sleeper role even if not asleep (e.g., withdrawing to bed)
4/19 Cultural Regulation of sleep
Sleep Rules and Routines
o Sleeping is something we do as a society
 Sleep and wake is socially coordinated

o Sleep Routines tie individuals to society
 Pre- and post-sleep behaviors facilitate sleep-wake shifts
 Transitional practices : Lying quietly, reading a book
 Symbolic markers : Turning the light off, saying “good night”
 Social etiquette of sleep (how to sleep as to not disturb others)


o Sociological issues in sleep (Taylor, 1993)
 Meaning: Is sleep a sacred time for restoration or waste of valuable work
time?
 Methods: How is sleep supposed to be ‘done’?
 Motives: What are the acceptable reasons for sleep?