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Chubstep

Sleep

·45 min·4 clips
Medieval people slept in two shifts with a waking period in between for praying, visiting neighbors, or having intercourse.
The episode begins with an ad for IG investment platform, followed by the hosts Jrad and Steed introducing the topic of sleep. Jrad shares a personal anecdote about being approached by a meth head with a gas can at an Arby's drive-thru, leading to a humorous discussion about what might have happened if he had helped. The conversation shifts to sleep patterns, where Jrad explains the historical concept of 'first sleep' and 'second sleep' from medieval times, based on research by Roger Ekirch, where people slept in two shifts with a waking period in between for activities like praying or visiting neighbors. They connect this to modern sleep issues, like Jrad's son waking up at night. The hosts then explore sleep disorders, including confusional arousals and sleepwalking, and dive into true crime cases where sleepwalking was used as a legal defense. Notable cases include Albert Tirrell in 1846, who was acquitted of murdering a prostitute while sleepwalking, and Kenneth Parks in 1987, who killed his in-laws while sleepwalking and was found not guilty. They discuss the absurdity of these defenses and joke about documenting their own sleepwalking for legal protection. The episode also covers fatal familial insomnia, a rare genetic disease that prevents sleep and leads to death, and extreme sleep deprivation experiments, like Randy Gardner staying awake for 11 days in 1963. They share animal sleep facts, such as giraffes sleeping 30 minutes a day and chinstrap penguins taking thousands of micro-sleeps. The hosts wrap up with trivia about President Calvin Coolidge's long sleep habits and encourage listeners to send topic suggestions.

As heard by us

A child's 4 a.m. wake-up turns into sheep logic, split sleep, and a very early burger.

Sleep proves more flexible than it first sounds, moving from a child's 4 a.m. wake-up to the notion that rest can be split into separate blocks.

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Why you'd press play

You want a child's 4 a.m. wake-up to turn into a sheep-based case for embracing split sleep.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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