Sleep No More

Five LIFE writers share their sleep stories

We are in an epidemic of insomnia, not helped by corona-crisis-induced stress and enforced inactivity. No wonder sleep is a national obsession. Here, five of LIFE’s favourite writers share their sleep stories, from tales of wakeful nights and disrupted slumber, to near-narcolepsy

Ten years ago, the WHO described an emerging global epidemic. No, not a virus — insomnia. Since then, the always-on aspect of modern life has only ramped up, and one of the consequences is that the epidemic is worse. We talk about sleep, think about sleep, read about it, invest in it, plan for it, agonise over it. What we don’t do, is sleep.

Nearly one-third of Irish adults have experienced insomnia, and that figure is very much on the rise. Insomnia takes various forms; it can be transient, episodic, or persistent. For some, it’s a lifelong presence. Research into the role sleep plays in a variety of disorders — including diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke — has made many of us even more anxious, at the same time as the corona crisis has forced us into inactivity and too much time indoors.

It’s a perfect sleepless storm. And our focus has never been sharper. Books about sleep — its social, psychological, medical and neurological functions — and recently, a subgenre, books about insomnia, are everywhere. Sleep tech — tracking it, enhancing it — is a booming business, as is the ‘sleep health’ industry, and there are times online (try Twitter at 3am) when you’d be forgiven for thinking no one is sleeping at all. Sleep is emotional and psychological almost as much as it is physical; far more than just a period of unconsciousness.

Here, five of our finest writers share their own sleep stories: what it means to them, how it works for them.