Last night, at 2:30 am, my phone rang. Thrice. It was my boss. He gave up after the third attempt, probably thinking that I may have slept off. I felt relieved. And then it suddenly struck me: I had changed my WhatsApp display photograph just 8 minutes previously. And there’s no way in the world, I was gonna doze off and miss his call thrice in just 8 minutes. So I slyly went on WhatsApp again, changed my profile picture back to the original (hoping that my boss never noticed), and went back offline in a jiffy. I spent another 45 minutes checking photographs of my friend’s Euro trip on Instagram, editing mine on Prisma, reading a listicle on a viral website and staring at my ceiling fan. 

All of which has got no point here.

The point is, what business did my boss have to discuss at that hour? And more importantly, why in the world was I awake at 2:30 in the night?

Youtube

Perhaps it was the noise of the compressor of my AC. Perhaps it was the new bed sheet. Perhaps it was the late evening coffee. Yeah, it has to be. The goddamn caffeine in my blood stream must have messed up my sleep. But then, I never have coffee at that hour. In fact, I hate coffee. And yet, I sleep post 2 am almost everyday. What is it then? 

Maybe I have become an insomniac.   

Yes… Yes, it suddenly makes so much sense now. I can’t sleep at night. I can barely get up on time in the morning. I have dark patches under my eyes from staring at the laptop screen all day and the mobile screen all night. I am irritable all the time. And after an excruciating week of ridiculous monotony, I party like there’s no tomorrow! Because isn’t that the only reason we work our asses off for, anyway!?

Long story short, I am the walking dead and I am not alone.

Youtube

I see hundreds like me everyday at my gym, office, metro stations, malls and clubs, and it’s not even funny. It’s like a sea of grumpy, morose, unrested people sweeping in and off places in batches, only to be replaced by an even more lifeless lot. 

This whole generation is suffering from sleeping disorders and it poses as real a problem as does climate change. 

Even DiCaprio would agree.

giphy

And before the insomniacs of the world spring up in arms against such blatant generalization of the ailment, it’s imperative to add that the situation is rather self-imposed when it comes to our generation.

For we, the young and the restless, the workaholics, the party hoppers, have traded our sleep and relaxation for a little love on social media and brought this slavery upon ourselves. 

celebritygossip

Actually, the fault is not ours. We’ve been raised to believe that the ideal case scenario for a 20-30 something is ‘work hard, party harder’. And then, somewhere along the line, the situation actually got out of hand and the ideal case scenario became: work hard, party harder & show off even harder.

fax2payday2

It is this generation’s fixation with technology and everything frivolous that has led us to give up on something as essential as a healthy amount of sleep. Our days begin with checking our phones and tabs, progress with status updates on social media and end with a several hundred left and right swipes. And then, the weekend hits us like a hailstorm.

Starting Thursday, we can’t sleep in the anticipation of the impending weekend. On Friday, we can’t handle the most happening evening of the week. Saturday mornings are all about hangovers and evenings all about Netflix (and chill?). And Sunday night is spoilt by the very thought of the impending Monday morning.

Youtube

So when do we actually sleep? The answer is never.

This generation has been living in denial. Sometimes we blame it on work, the other times on personal issues. What we need to realise here is that the majority of our problems stem from the basics which need fixing. Maybe this generation needs to just sit back and relax. Not the roll-a-joint-and-smoke-away kind of relax, but more like a get-a-generous-amount-of-regular-sleep kind of relax. Oh, and while we’re at it, we should also detoxify. 

Think a little about this article at night when you’re done stalking your ex on Facebook, catching the Pikachus and Jigglypuffs of the world and even whacking off to porn. 

Youtube

For it’s the only time of the day when your mind actually realises that it needs rest!