The British Medical Journal, or BMJ for short, examined fairy tales and sleep in its Christmas 2024 edition. Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Snow White, The Princess and the Pea The and Peter Pan, were at the heart of the discussions. Contrary to what one might expect, this research does not address the benefits of telling children a story before bedtime, but shows how fairy tales explore the question of a good night's sleep. In particular, they highlight how the children's favorite stories address the benefits of rest, or, conversely, the consequences of a lack of sleep.
Thick silence and complete black
Let's take the example of Goldilocks and the Three BearsWe owe the first edition of this tale, which comes from a Scottish legend, to the Brothers Grimm; it dates back to 1837. It tells the story of a little girl visiting the home of a family of three bears while they are out in the forest. In Flora Annie Steel's version, the little girl tastes their food, tries out their seats, and finally falls asleep in the bear's bed. Indeed, the other two beds, those of the parents, were not comfortable enough for her. The story thus shows that the environment plays a major role in rest: a suitable and comfortable mattress, a temperature that is neither too high nor too low, the deepest silence, and being in the dark all contribute to the quality of the blonde's nap.
Snow White, is, for its part, originally from Germany and appeared in 1812 in a collection by the Brothers Grimm. Walt Disney's variant, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, describes her escape from the castle, her stepmother wanting to kill her to become the most beautiful in the kingdom, and her encounter with the seven dwarves. It is therefore quite easy to directly link Sleepy, the most tired of all the dwarves, with sleep disorders. In addition, Grumpy's irritability, Timid's social difficulties, and Professor's attention or word control problems, may be consequences of a bad night. Atchoum, the eternally sick person, also sleeps poorly, as evidenced by his weakened immune system. Joyful, on the other hand, snores, much like all the other dwarves. This is said to be due to their small size leading to obstructive sleep apnea, which can disturb and wake him up many times.
Different causes of sleep disorders
For The Princess and the Pea, the relationship between poor rest and discomfort in bed is obvious. Indeed, the Danish tale by Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1835, evokes the horrible night she has just spent despite the 20 mattresses and 20 comforters on which she is installed. The pea buried under the mattresses therefore prevented her from sleeping. Here, the princess seems to have an autism spectrum disorder, characterized in the story by high sensory sensitivity and insomnia, the inability to fall asleep quickly or stay asleep. The pea is therefore not the only cause of her insomnia.
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Finally, the work Peter Pan, by James Matthew Barrie, from 1902, depicts a little boy living on a magical island, Neverland, where children never grow up. Symptoms of parasomnias are present throughout the myth. They include sleepwalking, night terrors, represented by Peter Pan's nightmares, and even confused awakenings during the night. Furthermore, this sleep disorder, common during childhood, and from which the Lost Boys certainly suffer, can be caused by stress or lack of rest, caused here by Captain Hook, as well as by separation anxiety, all having been abandoned by their families.
And this is how parents, through children's stories, can talk to them about the consequences of poor quality sleep and the importance of taking care of their sleeping environment.
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