How the Industrial Revolution Stole Your Sleep — And How Evening Tea Can Help You Get It Back
At CHIU STYLE, we love uncovering The Secret Life of Everyday Things — the hidden stories behind ordinary daily rituals that shape our lives in surprising ways. A simple cup of tea before bed may feel like nothing more than a cosy habit, but its connection to our sleep patterns runs much deeper than most people realise.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and felt frustrated because you couldn’t fall back asleep right away? Many of us today chase that perfect eight-hour uninterrupted block of sleep, only to feel disappointed when our bodies don’t cooperate. What if that midnight waking isn’t a problem at all — but a quiet reminder of how our ancestors used to rest?
Sleep Before the Industrial Revolution
Before the Industrial Revolution, human sleep looked very different from the single long stretch we aim for today. People practised biphasic sleep — two separate periods of sleep with a peaceful waking interval in between.
Historian Roger Ekirch spent years studying old diaries, medical texts, prayer books, and literature. He discovered more than 2,000 references showing that biphasic sleep was the norm for centuries across many cultures. From ancient Greece in Homer’s Odyssey all the way to early 19th-century Europe, people lived according to the sun’s natural rhythm.
A typical night went like this: Shortly after sunset, people would go to bed and fall into a deep “first sleep” lasting about three to four hours. Around midnight, they would naturally wake for one to two hours. This interval was known as “the watch” or simply “the waking.”
Instead of lying awake with anxiety, they embraced this time peacefully. Some prayed, others chatted softly with family or partners, enjoyed a small snack, shared intimate moments, read by candlelight, reflected on the day, or simply sat in quiet contemplation. A 16th-century French doctor even noted that this was when labourers often felt most connected and intimacy was especially fulfilling.
After this gentle break, they would return to bed for their “second sleep” until dawn.
This pattern wasn’t limited to Europe. Similar biphasic sleep existed in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and among Australian Aboriginal societies. Nights were long, quiet, and in harmony with nature — free from electric lights, constant notifications, and the pressure to optimise every minute.
When you hear these historical accounts, it’s easy to wonder: Could our modern midnight awakenings be less about insomnia and more about our bodies remembering this older, calmer rhythm?
How the Industrial Revolution Changed Everything
Everything began to shift in the late 18th century with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Factories multiplied rapidly, and owners used loud whistles and strict clocks to control workers’ schedules. The factory bell often rang before sunrise, forcing people to work 12 to 14 hours or more each day.
Natural sunlight rhythms were replaced by the cold discipline of machines. Gas lighting, followed by electricity, turned night into day. Factories could operate around the clock, and people started staying up later. Sleep came to be viewed as “wasted time” in a world obsessed with productivity. The comfortable two-phase sleep pattern was gradually compressed into one single block.
While the Industrial Revolution brought economic growth and innovation, it also stole something precious: our peaceful, unhurried connection with the night.
Today, many historians and documentaries suggest that when we wake at night and struggle to fall back asleep, we may simply be feeling the echo of our ancestors’ natural “watch” period.
The effects varied around the world. In Britain and Northern Europe, where industrialisation started earliest, the change was most dramatic. In the United States, sleep became shorter, with people often trying to “catch up” on weekends. In Asia, long working hours pushed bedtime later, although afternoon naps survived in many hotter regions as a clever adaptation.
The factory whistle, combined with artificial light and productivity demands, turned what was once a harmonious relationship with the sun into many different versions of modern sleep struggles.
Reclaiming the Night with Gentle Tea Rituals
The good news is we can gently reclaim that slower rhythm. Our ancestors often turned to calming plants like valerian and chamomile to ease into rest. A simple evening tea ritual — dimming the lights, silencing notifications, and savouring a warm cup — can become a small but meaningful act of resistance against the artificial urgency of modern life.
If you’re looking for a tea that brings both comfort and bright flavour to your evening, our Caramelized Orange Black Tea is a wonderful choice.
Its gentle caramel notes and fresh orange brightness make it perfect not only for drinking but also for cooking. One delicious way to enjoy it is in the Caramelized Orange Black Tea Mushroom & Spinach Mini Quiche. The tea-infused custard adds a fragrant, subtly sweet depth that pairs beautifully with savoury mushrooms and fresh spinach, all wrapped in a golden, flaky crust. Every bite is rich, balanced, and deeply satisfying.
Here’s the full recipe for you to try at home:
🥧 Caramelized Orange Black Tea Mushroom & Spinach Mini Quiche (Makes 6–8 mini quiches)
Pastry
- 200g all-purpose flour
- 100g unsalted butter (cold, cut into small cubes)
- 40–60 ml cold water
- Pinch of salt
Filling Vegetables
- 120g mushrooms, sliced
- 80g spinach, blanched and squeezed dry
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt & black pepper to taste
Tea-Infused Custard (the star!)
- 2–3 bags Caramelized Orange Black Tea
- 120 ml hot water (steep strong for 6–8 minutes)
- 2 eggs
- 150 ml milk or plant milk
- 100 ml heavy cream or plant cream
- ½ tsp salt
- Black pepper (Optional: a little orange zest)
Method
- Make the pastry: Mix flour and salt, rub in cold butter until sandy, add cold water to form a dough. Chill for 30 minutes. Roll out, line mini tart tins, prick with a fork, and blind bake at 180°C for 10–12 minutes with weights, then 5 more minutes until lightly golden.
- Prepare vegetables: Sauté mushrooms until dry, season with salt and pepper. Blanch spinach, squeeze out excess water.
- Make custard: Steep tea in hot water, cool, then whisk with eggs, milk, cream, salt, and pepper.
- Assemble: Place vegetables in pastry shells, pour custard until 80% full.
- Bake at 170–175°C for 25–30 minutes until golden and just set in the centre.
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Thank you for reading. May your evenings be calm and your tea delicious.