This Week in YouTube March 16
21:35 Share

If I come off of the GLP-1, it's not going to automatically make my weight yo-yo back.

$149 GLP-1s? Now that's Noom smart. Get started at Noom.com. Real Noom user composited to provide their story. Individual results may vary. Not all customers will medically qualify for prescription medications. Compounded medications are not reviewed by the FDA for safety, efficacy, or quality.

This tax season at Boost Mobile, when you buy six months on our best unlimited plans, we will give you the next six months for free. Plus, enter to win up to $10,000 and double your tax refund. Your refund, your rules. Requires upfront payment, taxes and fees extra. Terms and exclusions apply. Visit BoostMobile.com for full offer terms and sweeps details.

Hey friends, welcome to the Renaissance English History Podcast. This is the weekly highlight reel of videos that I have put out on YouTube. So in case you don't know, you can go over to YouTube and watch all my videos. The channel is History and Coffee, and you can just search for my name as well, Heather Tesco, History and Coffee, and you will get it. And you can subscribe there. Thank you to the many people who already subscribe. And then what I've started doing is

weekly highlight reels of some of the videos that have gone out on YouTube that would be of interest to the podcast listeners as well. So thanks for listening. And you can also, like I said, go over and join me on YouTube history and coffee and search for Heather. And there I am. So let's get right into it. Today we are talking about

sleep and the way people slept before the modern period. There's a wonderful book called At Day's Close, Night in Time's Past, and I've talked about it before on this channel. I'm kind of a little bit obsessed with sleep. I've always been a little bit obsessed with sleep, but you know, as I go through like the perimenopause and like sleep gets more elusive as I get older and stuff like that,

Um, it's become something that I think about even more and how to get sleep and how to sleep through the night better and all that. Like, it's weird when you're in your 20s and before you have kids in your 30s, you just don't think about sleep that much. Well, you think about like going out and partying and like not getting sleep and stuff and then

something shifts I swear it's like when middle age hits and you suddenly just become obsessed with your sleep and like how are you getting sleep and all of the stuff and it kind of starts when you have a baby and you're like obsessed with their sleep and they're sleeping through the night and then it shifts over to you so I'm in that phase right now of my life where I'm like obsessed with my sleep I'm protecting my sleep and like making sure I get enough sleep and blah blah blah so I

I'm very interested in how people slept in the past. And it might actually blow your mind a little bit to know that people did not always lay down for eight hours at once and think that that was the best way to sleep. In fact, they slept in two phases. It was biphasic sleep, first sleep and second sleep. And then you got up in the middle of the night and did some stuff in the middle. So we're going to talk about that. All right, let us get into it. Let me pull up my notes here.

So the historian Roger Eckridge actually wrote this book at days closed, night and times past. And he talks about this story when he was reading a document talking about a nine-year-old girl, Jane Routh, in 1699, who woke up from what she called her first sleep. And this phrase, first sleep, was probably something people passed over regularly, but it stuck out to him and he wanted to investigate what is a first sleep, just this casual mention.

And it actually kind of hinted at a whole pattern of life, one that was so ordinary it didn't need any explanation at all.

And so for millennia, humans slept in two distinct shifts. So this idea of going to bed once and waking up, you know, going to bed at 11 and getting up at 7 or whatever your thing is, that's a very modern, very new type of thing. So we're going to talk about how this started biphasic sleep, what it entailed and how it faded into evolution.

obscurity for, for most of us. Anyway, my husband still gets up in the middle of the night. He gets up, he has like a whole secret life. I swear. It's the weirdest thing. And it's always been like that ever since I've for 20 years, since we've been together, he'll get up at like two in the morning. He'll like have a meal. He'll play video games. Sometimes he plays his guitar. It's like a whole, he just has like a whole thing that he does between like two and four.

Very interesting. So my husband is doing this kind of medieval pre-modern sleeping pattern. So he's channeling his medieval person without even knowing it. Anyway, biphasic sleep, segmented sleep, refers to the practice of dividing the night into two distinct phases, the first sleep and the second sleep. Between these periods was an interval of wakefulness known as the watch.

This wasn't a quirk or anything. This was a widespread and normal part of life across pre-industrial societies.

historical records are filled with references to this practice chaucer mentioned it in the canterbury tales william baldwin described it in beware the cat a satirical story from the sixteenth century it appears in medical texts in letters in diaries and even in ballads for example the old ballad of robin of portingale includes the lines at the wakening of your first sleep you shall have a hot drink made

And it wasn't unique just to England. It was across Europe. People had names for their first and second sleeps. Premier Somme in France, Primo Sono in Italy. And references to the practice appear as far afield as South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. It seems that

But biphasic sleep was a global phenomenon, an ancient inheritance that shaped how people structured their nights. So a typical night in the 16th century would probably look very, very different from what we do today. People would go to bed shortly after sunset, probably around 8, 9 o'clock. Those who could afford it would sleep on a mattress with feathers or straw, while the less fortunate would fill their mattress with like plants or grass or even bare floors.

Sleeping arrangements were communal. Families, servants, sometimes even strangers would share a bed. You hear these stories all the time about people sharing in, you know, sleeping in the same bed while they were sharing an inn, things like that. So that was quite common. We talked a lot about the idea of privacy, that there just wasn't this idea of privacy like we have. I did an episode on that just a couple months ago, pretty recently. So anyway,

After two or three hours of sleep, they would naturally wake up. You know, a lot of times too, there were church bells that were ringing through the night because of course you had, um, the church was keeping the, the hours of the church and there was Compline, there were Vespers, there were all of these kind of nighttime services as well. So you would hear these church bells. Um, so people would wake up for the watch and this was a period of wakefulness that would last from one to three hours. This was just like their natural rhythm. And

And during this time, people would engage in a variety of activities. They would do some household tasks, maybe like adding logs to the fire, maybe peeling rushes for the candles, or maybe even brewing beer. Farmers might check on their livestock or prepare a little bit for the next day's work. You would also talk to your spouse. That would be maybe when you were having some time with your partner, with your spouse, maybe some quiet reflection, maybe some intimate time with your partner.

Husbands and wives would use this time to talk after being busy throughout the day. This was kind of like your quiet, sacred time in the middle of the night. Religious devotions also played a role. Christians would use this time for prayer and for meditation. It was just really like your peaceful hour when the world was still, the world was quiet, nobody was up working. It was the time to just be focused on everything.

You and your family and your spiritual life, after the watch, people would return for their second sleep, which typically lasted until dawn. So this rhythm of rest and wakefulness was integral to how people lived their lives.

The roots of biphasic sleep stretch far back in human history. The earliest references can be found in texts, ancient texts like the Odyssey and works by Roman authors like Livy and Virgil. These sources suggest that sleeping in two phases was a norm for millennia, possibly even among our prehistoric ancestors.

That kind of makes sense, right? Many researchers believe this was an adaptive behavior. Dividing sleep into two segments allowed you to remain alert during vulnerable nighttime hours, reducing the risk of predators coming in or other dangers to you. This practice is often mirrored in nature. Many animals do this segmented sleep as well to maximize their survival.

If you have a cat, you will also probably be familiar with by basic sleep because it seems like I don't know if it's my cat or what. But every night she's indoor, outdoor. And every night at about three o'clock is when she wants to go out and she jumps up on the bed and starts scratching. And she's like, all right, I'm awake. Time to let me up. Of course, Jonathan's usually awake at that time anyway. But, you know, sometimes he's not. Sometimes she comes to me even when he is awake. And that really makes me mad because I'm like, no, I'm not the one who gets up in the middle of the night. Go talk to dad.

So by the Middle Ages, this practice of two sleeps had become very ingrained in European culture, and it was reinforced by religious traditions. Monks would rise at midnight to pray, and this habit gradually spread to lay people as well. So then the watch just became an accepted part of life, a cherished part of the nighttime.

By the 19th century, biphasic sleep began to change. Why was this? Of course, the answer lies, like the answer to many things in the Industrial Revolution. Artificial lighting became more prevalent, so the structure of the night began to shift. There were gas lamps on the street as well, so public lighting arrived.

allowed people to extend their waking hours far beyond sunset. People could go out and, you know, go to the pub late and walk home and not necessarily be afraid you were going to be a victim of a crime because there was light. And so you could see by the late 19th century, there was electric lighting, which made it possible to stay awake even longer. This created an entirely new relationship with time and with productivity. Instead of

Going to bed early and waking for the watch, people started going to bed later and compressing their sleep into one single block. Work schedules also played a significant role. The industrial economy demanded punctuality and long hours, so there wasn't much room for the leisurely middle-of-the-night break. Sleep became more utilitarian. It was designed to be a rest to fuel the next day's work. And people started to adapt to this new rhythm, and the practice of segmented sleep quietly disappeared.

So what does this forgotten habit mean for us today? For one, it challenges assumptions about sleep. Many people experience insomnia or wakefulness in the middle of the night, especially if you are going, the woman of a certain age, going through a certain time in your life. But anyway, people view that as a problem, right? But historical records suggest that this might not be a problem at all, might just be a part of natural biology.

Whoa, easy there. Yeah.

applies to online activations, requires port in and auto pay. Customers activating in stores may be charged non-refundable activation fees. On average, you'll have to wait 31 days to see an OBGYN. And if you're dealing with an infection or outbreak, you know you need care fast. That's where WISP comes in. Connect with a U.S. licensed provider online and pick up safe, effective,

affected treatment at your local pharmacy that same day. Plus, get birth control and more delivered in all 50 states. Take control with comprehensive sexual and reproductive care off of your phone. WISP. That's HelloWISP.com. The waiting room can wait.

Your old or broken phone can let you down when you need it most. Perfect. But at Verizon, trade in any old phone from our top brands and get the most for it. Up to $2,000 in value for an amazing new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence and a new line on MyPlan. And iPad and Apple Watch Series 10. That's like a three for one. And you can get it on any plan. At Verizon, trade in your old phone for a brand new iPhone 16 Pro, iPad and Apple Watch. The other guys won't give you that. Visit Verizon.com today.

In the 1990s, sleep scientist Thomas Vare conducted a groundbreaking experiment that recreated the conditions of pre-industrial life. Participants were exposed to only 10 hours of light each day, simulating a world without electricity. Within weeks, their sleep patterns shifted. They began sleeping in two phases again with this period of wakefulness in between. It's fascinating. So this simulation

suggest that biphasic sleep is actually really deeply ingrained in our physiology, even though modern life suppresses it. For those who struggle with middle-of-the-night wakefulness, this knowledge can be a source of comfort as well. Understanding that segmented sleep was once the norm may help to alleviate some anxiety about insomnia, reframing it as a natural rhythm rather than a disorder that needs to be dealt with.

So there's something undeniably intriguing about the idea of the watch. And if you are someone who does get up in the middle of the night and has some time, some productivity time, like my husband at 2 a.m., I would love to hear from you in the comments and tell me what you think. These twilight hours offer this unique blend of quiet, of introspection, of sacredness, as well as productivity.

For our pre-modern friends, it was a time to connect with their family, reflect on life, all under the soft glow of the moonlight. So there you go. I've talked about this biphasic sleep before in other videos, but I saw something online today about it and I wanted to revisit it because I think it's a really fascinating part of our history and it's something that we don't really think about. We just think this idea of going to bed and waking up eight hours later is just kind of the norm and what we're supposed to be doing.

But it's not necessarily. So again, if you sleep biphasically, let me know about that. What is that like for you? I would like to know.

Today, we are going to talk about Tudor and medieval sleep remedies for insomnia. So I've shared before on this channel, and I did a video a couple of months ago on biphasic sleep. I shared in that video. I'm at the point where like the perimenopause is happening, and I'm like been fascinated by sleep because sleep is suddenly becoming like an

a thing that I think about. I think like you go through these phases in your life, what I've noticed, where suddenly sleep becomes something that you're really concerned about. Like when you have a baby and you're like following their sleep. And I'm at the point now where I'm like a little bit obsessed with getting enough sleep. You see my Fitbit tells me my sleep score and stuff like that. You know, like I don't stress about it. Like it's not like I'm stressing so much about it that

I'm stressing myself out and not getting sleep with that. But I do think a lot about my sleep in ways that I didn't think about my sleep in my 20s and 30s and before I had a child and stuff like that. So I wanted to talk today about medieval and Tudor remedies for insomnia. Because, you know, I do this thing where I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm just like awake. So let's talk about it.

So if you've ever struggled to fall asleep, you're in good company. People in medieval and Tudor England had the same problem. And while they didn't have melatonin gummies or white noise machines, they did have an arsenal of sleep remedies. Some were surprisingly modern, like herbal teas and warm milk, while others were a little bit more bizarre. Ever considered stuffing your pillow with hops or rubbing fox lung powder on yourself?

So today we are going to dive into the sleep habits of the past, how people in the medieval and Tudor period dealt with insomnia, what remedies they swore by, and even what famous medieval and Tudor figures tossed and turned throughout the night.

So let's start with a review of the sleep pattern that might seem odd to us today, post-industrialization, post-electricity, but for centuries was totally normal. And that's the two sleep system, biphasic sleep. So I'm not going to talk about that a lot because I did that other video earlier.

But before artificial lighting, this is the gist of it, before artificial lighting, people naturally fell into segmented sleep patterns. They'd go to bed early, wake up in the middle of the night for an hour or two hours, and then go back to sleep until morning. This wasn't actually seen as a problem. It was just how sleep worked.

Historian Roger A. Kirk found references to this all over medieval and Tudor-era writings. Some called it a first sleep and a second sleep. Others used the midnight hours for prayer or for quiet work, or even in some cases, they would visit the neighbors. Imagine knocking on somebody's door at 2 a.m. just to chat.

His book, At Day's Close, is a history of nighttime, and it's so interesting. A 15th century book of hours even included specific prayers to be said during the middle of the night waking period. And in the 16th century, a doctor named André de Larnes actually recommended getting up for a bit before going back to sleep. It was thought to be healthy. So if you are the type of person who wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, congratulations, you actually have a perfectly medieval sleep cycle.

But when people did have trouble sleeping, they turned to remedies, some that might sound familiar and some that absolutely will not.

The first sounds familiar, herbal remedies. If you've ever made yourself a cup of chamomile tea to wind down before bed, you are in good company. Chamomile, valerian root, and lavender were all recommended by medieval and Tudor herbalists as sleep aids. One of the most famous medical texts, Bald's Leech Book, written in the 900s but still referenced in Tudor times,

suggests poppy juice for sleep. And yes, that's exactly what it sounds like. It's an early opioid. Tudor doctors prescribed it for people who just couldn't drift off. Effective? Yes. Safe?

Probably not. If poppy juice seemed a little extreme, people could turn to more everyday remedies. Lettuce water, boiling lettuce and drinking the liquid because it was believed to have calming properties. Hops stuffed pillows. This wasn't just a weird idea. It actually worked.

hops contain natural sedatives sixteenth-century herbalist john gerard recommended this for those who suffereth uneasy rest and then there was nutmeg and warm milk a surprisingly modern sounding tudor remedy that was believed to relax the body then there were of course the more spiritual approaches

Tudor England was deeply religious, so it's no surprise that insomnia was sometimes seen as a spiritual issue. If you were struggling to go to sleep, maybe it wasn't bad digestion or stress. Maybe it was a guilty conscience or a supernatural disturbance.

One common belief was that evil spirits could be behind sleeplessness. Some people placed St. John's Wort or mistletoe underneath their pillow to ward them off. Others carried a charm inscribed with a Bible verse. Holy relics were another go-to. A Benedictine monk in the 15th century wrote about a man who suffered from chronic insomnia until he placed a relic of St. Cuthbert under his pillow.

But for those who preferred practical solutions over supernatural ones, there were still plenty of everyday Tudor sleep rituals. For example, you could rub your feet with warm oil. Massaging the soles of your feet with warm oil, often infused with rosemary or lavender, was a common remedy for tension.

It's Eugenio Derbez. Did you know that with Boost Mobile, you can cut your phone bill in half this tax season? Yes, half. Buy six months of service and get six months free. That's a full year of service paying half. That sounds good, doesn't it?

and all on the Boost Network with 99% nationwide coverage. Don't wait. Visit your Boost store today. Requires upfront payment, taxes, and fees extra. Terms and exclusions apply. Visit BoostMobile.com for full terms.

Picture this, you're halfway through a DIY car fix, tools scattered everywhere, and boom, you realise you're missing a part. It's okay, because you know whatever it is, it's on eBay. They've got everything, brakes, headlights, cold air intakes, whatever you need, and it's guaranteed to fit, which means no more crossing your fingers and hoping you ordered the right thing. All the parts you need at prices you'll love, guaranteed to fit every time. eBay, things people love.

John Gattiston was a royal physician. He recommended this as a cure for uneasy sleep. Also, people wore sleeping caps. When you think about sleeping caps, I always think of like Dickens characters. But many people, even in this period, wore night caps to keep their heads warm because drafts were thought to cause poor sleep.

also you would want to position your bed properly a well-positioned bed was key many tudor era guides suggested placing the bed facing east which was believed to align with the natural energy of the rising sun

Then, of course, some of the cures were a little more extreme. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and some insomnia remedies were, let's just say, questionable at best. For example, placing a key underneath your pillow. A folk remedy was said to ward off nightmares and sleep paralysis.

There was also bloodletting. If your physician thought that your sleep troubles stemmed from an excess of different humors, they might suggest bleeding you. This wasn't just for fevers. People with insomnia were sometimes advised to have blood drawn to cool the body. For example, Henry VIII's personal doctors prescribed bloodletting when his anxiety caused restless nights.

Fox lung powder. Physicians in the 16th century sometimes prescribed ground-up fox lungs as a remedy for night wandering, also insomnia. This is actually mentioned in the medical writings of Andreas Vesalius, who was a famous anatomist.

while these might seem odd to us the belief behind them was rooted in medieval medical theory balancing the body's humors blood phlegm black bile and yellow bile was key to health and insomnia was often blamed on an imbalance what about the rich and famous though did any notable tutors struggle with their sleep

Elizabeth I famously worked late into the night, sometimes requiring musicians to play soft music to lull her to sleep. Court records mention her calling on her ladies and waiting at odd hours. She was restless and unable to sleep.

Her grandfather, Henry VII, was known for his anxious and suspicious nature. He often paced at night, struggling with what we'd call insomnia today. His doctors even tried herbal mixtures to help him sleep. Polidora Virgil's Anglica Historia describes Henry's tendency to be restless and plagued by worry. Then Edward VI, his physicians noted his poor sleep, attributing it to his declining health.

Tudor-era medical records reference concerns about his unquiet rest. So clearly even royalty wasn't immune to sleepless nights. So while we might reach for herbal teas or sleep apps today, medieval and Tudor period had their own ways of dealing with insomnia. Some remedies like the valerian root and chamomile are still often used today, while others like fox lung powder, not so much.

Which of these sleep remedies would you be willing to try? Would you stuff your pillow with hops or rub your feet with rosemary oil? That doesn't seem like a big deal. I would try that. Let me know in the comments which of these sleep remedies you would try or have tried or would be interested in trying. I would love to know. And if there's anything else, tell me that too. Thanks so much for listening to this week's YouTube highlights. Remember, you can go over and subscribe. History and Coffee, Heather Tesco, you will find me there.

And we'll be back again next week with more highlights from what went out on YouTube throughout the week. Thanks so much. Have a great week.

It's Eugenio Derbez. Did you know that with Boost Mobile, you can cut your phone bill in half this tax season? Yes, half. Buy six months of service and get six months free. That's a full year of service paying half. That sounds good, doesn't it?

What makes a great pair of glasses? At Warby Parker, it's all the invisible extras.

without the extra cost. Their designer quality frames start at $95, including prescription lenses, plus scratch-resistant, smudge-resistant, and anti-reflective coatings, and UV protection, and free adjustments for life. To find your next pair of glasses, sunglasses, or contact lenses, or to find the Warby Parker store nearest you, head over to warbyparker.com. That's warbyparker.com.