By Ewan Maguire
Sleep is a mystery. We are unsure why it is necessary, but it is essential. Without it, each of our organs deteriorates in its levels of function and our minds cloud.
Edgar Allen Poe said of sleep, “those little slices of death, how I loathe them”. R.D Laing, on treating an insomniac patient, asked her to reframe her nocturnal struggle, “most of us sleep through a third of our lifetime, think of the extra life you have to lead”. Life-embracing thoughts. However, for those of us who find ourselves awake while others sleep, savouring these extra moments of consciousness is not the natural reaction. The natural reaction is to turn, toss, clench, writhe, and yearn for that gradually sudden drop off.
Sleep Hygiene is the area of study and practice that looks to promote the best in sleeping techniques. Have a comfortable, calming bedroom and a bed in which you do nothing but sleep and have sex (if you are so lucky); avoid screens for at least an hour before getting down to it; stay away from caffeine, cigarettes and alcohol; make time for relaxation before getting between the sheets; do not exercise within two hours of your bedtime; and, go to bed and wake up at the same hour, every day.
I like sleeping, I seem to need it, and I don’t get enough of it. But I do still lose a significant portion of my conscious life to it, and it seems the way to improve my quality of slumber is to let considerations of it creep into the way I live my day. One conclusion seems to hold up: most modern lives are lived in a way that is not very amenable to a good sleeping habit, and often that is not the fault of the individual but the circumstances erected around them.
And, of course, there is a hierarchy of needs going on here: if we were starving and unsheltered, we would not have the inclination to stress or devote as much thought to sleep. Still, for those of us with roofs, full bellies, and beds that are lain in more than slept in, we can start to loathe those little slices of death. Not for their imposition but for their absence.
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