World Sleeplessness: A Reality Of The In-between

Sleep: a natural human process, that?helps the body and mind, rest or refresh. Like the many privileges that most of us take for granted because we think everyone has it as easy, sleep is one of those that most people don't even realize is. ?

Being a natural process, you’d think it comes instinctively to all, but the reality for most adults is that they live with a lack of it or experience it in insufficient amounts. Either by choice, through habits or by underlying causes like the environment one lives in or some kind of medical condition that induces effects like chronic pain. Which for many adults?can even be accepted as a normal they live with.

Insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by the inability to sleep or stay asleep, is the most common sleeping disorder suffered by many around the world.??

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Most surveys on Insomnia reveal that it is suffered by up to 237 million people globally, which is approximately 10-30% of adults across the world.?That’s millions of people and billions of dreamless nights. Marked by fatigued mornings of caffeine binging just to keep up right for the day. ?

There are many causes for insomnia, some more common than others, ranging from psychological issues like depression, chronic pain and hormone shifts to long working hours, environmental noise and a high altitude.?

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It is no wonder sleep is hard to find for most people especially working adults, because living in today's world It is almost impossible not to encounter any of those whether you work remote or on-site hence why most people suffer from it on the daily and for the lucky ones, occasionally.?

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Today Insomnia affects almost every adult you know or has been suffered by most of them at one point or the other in their lives. And almost all those people have been affected by it in both their personal and professional lives.?

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But like many conditions Insomnia is treatable mostly with pills or a change in habits and environment. And?for most people mainly those of my generation, Insomnia is either ignored or not even recognized when suffered from. This behavior is distinguishable in most who just choose to live with it and accept it as their nature, the “I don’t sleep much” types. Which for some reason view Insomnia as something only suffered by older people, like those in their 60’s or so.?

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Therefore, most of these people just get used to living with the condition and usually supplement it with a nightlife or hours of screen time, mostly unhealthy habits to pass the time.?

And as insane as it may sound most people manage it very well except for when its effects start to take off and affect crucial aspects of their lives, like work, relationships, attentiveness or even random unexpected migraines.??

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But regardless of all this, most people I know would rather take pain killers when the pain is unbearable than take sleeping pills. Mostly due to some misguided reasons like, taking any kind of pills on a regular can built a dependency which for most is not a good mental image to carry around. I have even had a discussion with some people that were convinced that sleeping pills caused a low sex drive which is a serious deterrent to most, whether true or not.?

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But everyone has to sleep at some point and most people that suffer from Insomnia and choose to not take any pills to help, just find sleep in the only way possible for everyone. Exhaustion to the point where the body and brain just initiate an automatic shut down due to over exhaustion. ?

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It sounds barbaric I know but if you have never felt exhaustion to this point then you either have never gone out to “turn up” or you have never had to work nights to get ahead or have some advantage in school or at work. But the most common pass time activity for many people, especially those on the younger side, is screen time, Netflix or playing some game.??

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No matter how you look at it, or due to its nature and just how common Insomnia actually is, you’d have to realize that it not only affects the sufferer but also the people that depend on them at work or elsewhere they are needed. Which is why in countries like Brazil where the numbers don’t look so good with about 76% of the population there suffering from the condition, the highest globally. The economic repercussions both for the country and Indvidual organizations can be devastating.?

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In the US for example one 2016 report by Rand.org showed that, “A lack of sleep among the U.S. working population is costing the economy up to $411 billion a year, which is 2.28 percent of the country's GDP”. Some serious losses for any economy. Some developed countries?have even come up with?solutions to remedy the problem among the work force?but for most workplaces Insomnia is viewed as a condition suffered off the clock or not really an issue worth addressing over some more pressing concerns faced at work hence why it isn’t really much of an addressed subject.?

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In conclusion I’d say Insomnia is a problem for many around the world and can be suffered by anyone regardless of their age. But like many other conditions just ignoring it might not exactly be the best way to go about it. If you can, seek some professional advice or research on some proper and safe ways to help you sleep. ?

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“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” ?

— E. Joseph Cossman?

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Thanks for reading.?