This book investigates how cultural practices and societal structures surrounding sleep and the night-time are shaped by political, economic, and historical forces. The authors, Brigitte Steger and Lodewijk Brunt, utilize a comparative framework to analyze how different societies in Asia and the West regulate human activity. By examining the influence of labor movements, educational institutions, and corporate interests, the text argues that the timing of sleep is not merely a biological necessity but a contested social construct. The work synthesizes ethnographic data to illustrate how modernity has altered the traditional boundaries between day and night across diverse global contexts.

Scholars in the fields of anthropology and sociology frequently cite this work for its unique cross-cultural approach to a neglected area of study. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous foundation for understanding the intersection of biology and social policy.