Rising from bed seems an easy task now. Setting off your alarm on your mobile phone and hitting the snooze button is all you have to do. However, despite the advancements in technology, ancient humans also had to wake up on time for their jobs, religious practices, and daily chores.Strangely enough, they did not depend on only one technique. Rather, they took advantage of several techniques, ranging from natural methods to artificial means, including other humans, to ensure that they would not sleep over schedule. These techniques ranged from candle clocks to human alarm systems.Here is how they managed their mornings before the invention of alarm clocks.
Natural cues: the original alarm clock
Nature was the most reliable alarm clock for thousands of years. Humans would sleep at nightfall and rise with the sun.The rooster also served its purpose by crowing very early in the morning. For rural societies, this was sufficient to sustain their daily activities without the need for any artificial aid.This method was effective in agrarian societies, which were primarily dependent on sunlight for their activities.
Church bells and town calls
In the urban areas, individuals depended on communal systems as opposed to individual systems. Bells from the churches rang at particular times, indicating different times of the day.Some people made use of town criers who walked around and announced the various times of the day, hence ensuring that everybody woke up.
Candle clocks and water clocks
In the absence of clocks in ancient times, creative methods of measuring time had to be devised. The candle clock was one of the more inventive of these techniques. Time was measured by burning down a marked candle. In some cases, a pin inserted into the wax of the candle would drop once it burned away sufficiently, making a noise which would wake up the sleeping person.The water clock operated in much the same way. Once the water reached a specific level, some noise or movement would be made, creating an alarm.
Knocker-uppers: human alarm clocks
The most interesting ways of waking people came from the era of the Industrial Revolution. They were called knocker-uppers, and they used to do one thing: waking other people up.These people used to go around town in the morning and knock on people’s windows either with some sticks or shoot dried peas into the windows with the help of pipes.Such occupation started becoming popular because many people had to arrive at work on time. Some knocker-uppers were going to leave only when they made sure their clients were fully awake.
Household help and routines
For wealthier families, waking up was something that was delegated to other individuals. The job of waking up the family members at the appropriate time was assigned to the servants.In the absence of servants, individuals would form their own habits. Sleep patterns allowed them to wake up on time without any reminders.
Unusual methods: from water to instinct
But then again, there were certain techniques which proved to be effective. For example, most people would have to consume enough water before going to bed so as to make sure that they will wake up on time.Then, there were others who relied on instinct. This is because the body gets used to doing things repeatedly.Later on, mechanical clocks were invented and became more affordable than ever.What previously took creativity, collective efforts, or even hiring someone else is now just one notification. However, these techniques also show one thing: humans did not need machines to control time. They only learned how to adapt to it.