"The Waste of Daylight": Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

Standard

"The Waste of Daylight" : Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills. / Hussey, Kristin D.

In: Social History of Medicine, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2022, p. 422-443.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Hussey, KD 2022, '"The Waste of Daylight": Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills', Social History of Medicine, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 422-443. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkab105

APA

Hussey, K. D. (2022). "The Waste of Daylight": Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills. Social History of Medicine, 35(2), 422-443. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkab105

Vancouver

Hussey KD. "The Waste of Daylight": Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills. Social History of Medicine. 2022;35(2):422-443. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hkab105

Author

Hussey, Kristin D. / "The Waste of Daylight" : Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills. In: Social History of Medicine. 2022 ; Vol. 35, No. 2. pp. 422-443.

Bibtex

@article{24e4e3f7481d41189a8c0162bd615461,
title = "{"}The Waste of Daylight{"}: Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills",
abstract = "This article explores an interesting episode in the history of time, health, and modernity: Britain's 1908 and 1909 Daylight Saving Time (DST) Bills. While the original DST scheme was unsuccessful, the discussions surrounding its implementation reveal tensions central to early twentieth century modernity, namely between industrial time and 'natural' bodily rhythms. This article argues that DST was essentially a public health measure aimed at improving the conditions of indoor workers like shop girls and clerks through government regulation of the private time of the labouring classes. Drawing on the extensive evidence provided to two House of Commons Special Committees, this article reveals how DST debates drew together contemporary discussions around sunlight therapy, night work, and the importance of regular sleeping and eating to tackle Britain's endemic urban diseases like consumption and anaemia. I suggest that the idea of bodily rhythms was increasingly important in medical thinking in this period and that the study of rhythmicity points to the potential for incorporating temporality as an analytical category in medical history.",
keywords = "Daylight Saving Time, sleep, occupational health, rhythmicity, labour movement",
author = "Hussey, {Kristin D.}",
year = "2022",
doi = "10.1093/shm/hkab105",
language = "English",
volume = "35",
pages = "422--443",
journal = "Social History of Medicine",
issn = "0951-631X",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - "The Waste of Daylight"

T2 - Rhythmicity, Workers' Health and Britain's Edwardian Daylight Saving Time Bills

AU - Hussey, Kristin D.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - This article explores an interesting episode in the history of time, health, and modernity: Britain's 1908 and 1909 Daylight Saving Time (DST) Bills. While the original DST scheme was unsuccessful, the discussions surrounding its implementation reveal tensions central to early twentieth century modernity, namely between industrial time and 'natural' bodily rhythms. This article argues that DST was essentially a public health measure aimed at improving the conditions of indoor workers like shop girls and clerks through government regulation of the private time of the labouring classes. Drawing on the extensive evidence provided to two House of Commons Special Committees, this article reveals how DST debates drew together contemporary discussions around sunlight therapy, night work, and the importance of regular sleeping and eating to tackle Britain's endemic urban diseases like consumption and anaemia. I suggest that the idea of bodily rhythms was increasingly important in medical thinking in this period and that the study of rhythmicity points to the potential for incorporating temporality as an analytical category in medical history.

AB - This article explores an interesting episode in the history of time, health, and modernity: Britain's 1908 and 1909 Daylight Saving Time (DST) Bills. While the original DST scheme was unsuccessful, the discussions surrounding its implementation reveal tensions central to early twentieth century modernity, namely between industrial time and 'natural' bodily rhythms. This article argues that DST was essentially a public health measure aimed at improving the conditions of indoor workers like shop girls and clerks through government regulation of the private time of the labouring classes. Drawing on the extensive evidence provided to two House of Commons Special Committees, this article reveals how DST debates drew together contemporary discussions around sunlight therapy, night work, and the importance of regular sleeping and eating to tackle Britain's endemic urban diseases like consumption and anaemia. I suggest that the idea of bodily rhythms was increasingly important in medical thinking in this period and that the study of rhythmicity points to the potential for incorporating temporality as an analytical category in medical history.

KW - Daylight Saving Time

KW - sleep

KW - occupational health

KW - rhythmicity

KW - labour movement

U2 - 10.1093/shm/hkab105

DO - 10.1093/shm/hkab105

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35558658

VL - 35

SP - 422

EP - 443

JO - Social History of Medicine

JF - Social History of Medicine

SN - 0951-631X

IS - 2

ER -

ID: 300371221