Maggie ’19

Sleep has become something luxury. In the capitalist system and market economy, the length of sleep is closely interlinked with forces of production. We live in a century that the most outstanding people toil day in and day out, seeking the most effective way to satisfy everyone’s desires, at any time and any place. It is common to hear someone flaunts “I only slept 3 hours last night.” What does sleep mean to us anymore? Nowadays, it signifies stagnation and idleness. So many books and articles to read, so many lectures and exhibitions to attend, so much travel to arrange, so much money to earn. Sleep more? That’s for people who are not able to utilize time effectively.

So we go to the supermarket and purchase energy drinks to force our body to adapt to intense labor. But how well do you know the “magic” beverage that you ingest daily, and gives you enough energy to go through half a day? After all, you probably know that energy drinks are somewhat unhealthy, but you would say to yourself: “I know it’s not good for me, but I only drink them when I really need them. It’s not that big of a deal… I know what I’m doing.”

Alright. Here are something that everyone should know about energy drinks:

• Energy drinks contain high amounts of sweetener, caffeine, and other stimulating substances, which may or may not be strictly regulated by FDA depending on whether the manufacturer chooses to label the energy drink as a “beverage” or a “liquid supplement.” “Liquid supplement” is a designation with far less rigid regulations than “beverage.”
• Energy drinks are estimated to contain 80 to 550 mg of caffeine per serving. But it is difficult to determine the exact caffeine content of each drink due to the inconsistency of FDA regulation and the mix of caffeine-containing ingredients. This can be dangerous for individuals who need to limit caffeine consumption.
• Caffeine is one of the primary active components in energy drinks, and it is the most widely used psychoactive substance generally. It is usually used to boost energy, and it awakens and clears the mind. When caffeine is ingested, it first interferes with the adenosine receptor. Adenosine dilates blood vessels and facilitates sleep. By binding with the adenosine receptor, caffeine interferes with the ability of adenosine to slow the body down. The result is increased neural activity, which gives you a boost and to feel more aware. Caffeine is readily absorbed, and its effects usually last 4-6 hours. But if it is consumed too close to bedtime, caffeine can interfere with the ability to fall asleep and negatively impact healthy sleep patterns.
• Another primary active components of energy drinks are sweeteners, they are usually in terms of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They cannot be stored as glycogen for use as energy. If ingested excessively, fructose is likely to be converted to fat by the liver, which is dangerous to your health.
• It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics that adults should only consume caffeine 500 mg per day, adolescents should consume no more than 100 mg of caffeine each day, and young children should not consume energy drinks at all.
• Healthier alternatives to increase energy include the following: eating small, frequent, nutrient-dense meals and snacks, getting regular exercise; most important, getting sufficient and well sleep.

Increased alertness for extended periods of time has many applications.  An animal which models the behavior humans envy in the modern world is the white-crowned sparrow, a native of North America. Every year, they migrate from Alaska to northern Mexico along the Pacific coastline. They have a special ability that many Wall Street people envy: they can stay awake for two weeks uninterrupted during migration season. Starting in 2003, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency known as DARPA, launched a series of medical experiments to find a way to keep its soldiers and pilots awake and alert for up to five days at a time, and the white-crowned sparrow was their research object.

War-related innovations will always penetrate into other broader societal fields. A simple example is the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is an aircraft without any human pilot aboard, and it was initially designed for the military purpose. But its use rapidly expanded to field such as commerce, science, recreation, agriculture, and others. Autonomous cars and home robots are derivatives from UAV. And soon, the package that you purchased from Amazon may be carried by a drone to your doorstep, which is another derivative from the UAV.

So what will happen to us if DARPA’s plan is going to play enormous impacts on our society? Soldiers and pilots who rarely sleep will be our vanguards, and soon pharmaceutical companies would widely market and popularize products that are able to keep us awake from sleep. These products would then become habitual and eventually could become daily necessities.

Is that what we really want? To be more productive without sleep? Now simply ask yourself, what is sleep to you? To all humankind, it represents a guaranteed physical state that allows all of us to retreat to our own world by the end of the day, it is private and personal. Sleep is a self-protection from commercialism and consumerism, that fervently wish the world ceaselessly to proceed transactions after transactions 24/7. Sleep stands for sustainability of a society, that is to say, a society must be sustained by sleep.  Most importantly, sleep provides a way for our bodies to heal and grow and our brains to rest and reboot.  Without healthy sleep our productivity may actually decrease.

We are enslaved by machines. When we put a device with sleep mode besides our pillow, or when we detour a little just because the Fitbit needs more steps, or when we eat meal replacement in the name of work efficiency, we are not making any humanized decisions, but obeying to consumerism that makes decisions for you.

Take back the freedom of choice of your health. Start with stop drinking energy drinks, and the most important, get some real sleep.