Sleep isn’t just about science. How culture and social inequity affect slumber

The end of daylight saving time often sparks conversations about sleep disruption, health risks, and productivity. However, Athabasca University English professor and author Dr. Paul Huebener says our relationship with sleep goes beyond biology as culture and social factors affect our ability to slumber.

“When we focus only on sleep as a matter of personal responsibility—like improving sleep hygiene or buying the right mattress—we ignore the broader social and cultural factors that impact our ability to rest,” said Huebener, a professor in AU's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Looking beyond the science of sleep

Earlier this year, Huebener published a new book, Restless in Sleep Country: Imagination and the Cultural Politics of Sleep. The book explores literature and other cultural representations of sleep in Canada, from mattress commercials and comic books to bedtime story phone apps.

Huebener explains that sleep isn’t just a personal or scientific issue. It’s deeply intertwined with social inequality and issues such as poverty and homelessness, consumer culture, technology, and climate change.

"Sleep troubles are widespread throughout society, but they tend to be more prevalent among people who are in poverty, and especially people who are homeless," he said.

During his research, Huebener explored the work of scholars such as Dr. Sarah Sharma who wrote about observing big lineups of people waiting to enter Vancouver’s central public library branch each morning. Many of those folks didn’t have a safe place to sleep, or would sleep in public only to be woken up by police, he said.

"When you don’t have a home, sleep is almost an illegal activity."

Sleep the ‘most universal of human behaviours’

Huebener’s interest in the topic was influenced by his own challenges in getting a good night’s rest. Those issues were so pronounced it affected his perceptions of how others view sleep. He recalled his surprise upon learning that half the country doesn’t feel refreshed in the morning.

“I was amazed that so many people do wake up feeling refreshed! Learning about sleep through the process of writing this book helped me to understand my own sleep a little better.”

While the science of sleep often holds fascination in the endless debate over the merits of daylight saving time, one of Huebener’s aims with the book is to show that there’s much more to discover outside science and technology.

"There’s no reason to think that sleep is inherently a science topic. I mean, why not think of sleep inherently as a topic for the humanities? It’s one of the most universal human behaviours, but it’s not a universal experience because sleep is so connected to social issues."

Restless in Sleep Country: Imagination and the Cultural Politics of Sleep was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.