Abstract
Around the world the phenomenon of sleep is perceived and experienced crossculturally
with Western ideas of sleep being the dominant frame of thought. Sleep as
a social phenomenon is under-researched, with little representation of sleep in Africa.
This study derives from the understanding of sleep as the everyday lived experience
at a department at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Auckland Park Campus.
Previous research on sleep provides much support from a biological and functional
perspective. However, very little research pertains to the anthropological view. Hence,
there is a need to study sleep from an anthropological perspective.
The motivation for this study stemmed from a diverse community in terms of age,
ethnicity, status, class, and gender. This study drew on an ethnographic approach to
unpack the meaning of sleep, where sleep narratives were key. This study included
various qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, and sleep diaries to
understand sleep through storytelling. Phenomenology was used as the lens to
understand the sleep narratives of this study. The findings of this study tell a story of
the sleep experiences of the participants, to understand the everydayness of sleep, as
well as the trade-off of sleep. Overall, this study reports on the social and cultural
influences on sleep where sleep is socially constructed, including the influence of the
capitalist culture on understanding the everyday life of sleep.
M.A. (Anthropology)