The sleepless society
German physicians and a prominent American professor and author of books are warning about the consequences of the sleepless society.
Communicating in social networks, shift work, online shopping: the global infrastructure is increasingly keeping people awake. “24 hours a day and seven days a week,” says the American art and theory professor and author of books, Jonathan Crary, who has written a critical book on the topic. The book, 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep, explores some of the ruinous consequences of the expanding non-stop processes of twenty-first-century capitalism.
A little bird without the need to sleep
Cary says that one hundred years ago people used to regularly have ten hours sleep. Today’s widespread lack of sleep is a symptom of life’s accelerated pace which marginalises personal thoughts and emotions. Society is not sufficiently appreciating the value of sleep as the opportunity to retreat and regenerate. On the contrary. Cary reckons that the economy in particular is interested in having an awake, alert, operational, and consumption driven society. In the United States the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating how the little white-crowned sparrow manages to go without sleep for seven consecutive days. According to Crary, the Pentagon is hoping to draw useful conclusions about the steering mechanisms in humans.
A topic for physicians and psychologists
In Germany, physicians and psychologists in particular are addressing the question of the ‘sleepless society’. They too are warning about the dangers of high-level media consumption, stress and the lack of sleep. Alfred Wiater, President of the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine, maintains: “Current developments in society, accompanied by globalisation plus permanent and digital availability, are promoting sleep disturbances.” The consequences are organic and psychological illnesses, and their economic damage will far outstrip the supposed economic advantages. Children and young people are already manifesting sleep disorders as a result of inappropriate media consumption which is disrupting their cognitive and emotional development. The German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine is aiming to develop some preventive strategies.
Annual Meeting of the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine from 3 to 5 December 2015 in Mainz
