Sleeplessness: A Tired Awareness

This is an English translation of the original Hindi. Translation may have changed the meaning a little; the Hindi original is the authoritative version.

Sleep is not merely rest; it is rebirth. It is not the repair of the body but the remaking of the soul. When sleep is taken away, a person does not merely tire — they are slowly cut off from their own awareness. Sleeplessness has become a silent crisis across the world, India included, one that modern life has accepted in the name of “productivity”.

There was a time when waking at dawn, rest in the evening and silence at night had a place in the Indian way of living. Life today is bound within artificial light, the glare of screens and an irregular routine. Sleep is now taken for a luxury, and staying awake for an achievement. That is the imbalance which tires the body, unsettles the mind, and silences the soul.

The extent of the problem

According to the Sleep Foundation India report of 2024, how much sleep a person needs varies with age and with the individual; most adults need enough sleep, regularly. The 62% / 74% figure given in this manuscript could not be sufficiently verified, and so has not been kept here as a settled national figure. Too little sleep multiplies the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, despondency and failures of memory.

This is not a personal matter but a social one. A fall in productivity at work, poor attention in schools, and silence between family members — these are all the invisible effects of too little sleep.

The undercurrent of the causes

The cause of sleeplessness is not busyness alone. It is the outcome of a life in which:

• there is no discipline in the daily routine
• screens and artificial light have displaced the sun and the moon
• discontent, worry and uncertainty live in the mind
• the body is given not rest but the expectation of continuing

The Indian tradition says — “रात्रौ मौनं, चित्तस्य विश्रान्तिः” — that is: the silence of night gives the mind its rest.

But life today takes the night, too, for a time of waking. That is the imbalance which stops the body’s repair and tires the mind.

The effect on society and the mind

Sleeplessness does not only make a person tired; it unsettles their emotional steadiness. Irritability, difficulty in deciding, weak memory, and discomfort in relationships — together these slowly lower the quality of life.

In adolescents it takes them away from schooling, from speech and from confidence. In the elderly it leads towards confusion, unsteadiness and withdrawal from society. At workplaces it obstructs productivity, the making of things, and working together.

The direction of a remedy

To come out of this crisis we must build not a bedtime but a culture of sleep. If we take the night not only as rest but as remaking; if we understand silence not as saying nothing but as awareness — then this condition can not only be controlled but prevented.

The main pillars of improving how one lives:

Measure	Level at which it works	Expected effect
A digital fast (one hour before sleep)	Personal	Peace of mind, quality of sleep
Giving up the night meal, and rest in the evening	The family	Balanced digestion, rest of mind
Silence and meditation	Spiritual	Less stress, steadiness of mind
Teaching and campaigns about sleep	Institutional	Improvement among the young, fairness in society

The place of policy and education

If sleeplessness is to be stopped, individual effort is not enough; collective policy and education are needed. Conversation about sleep in schools, a policy of discipline about night work, and the encouragement of silence and rest in the media — together these can build a gentler society.

NITI Aayog’s Sleep Health Strategy 2025 proposes that India should run sleep education in schools, a rest policy at workplaces, and campaigns for restraint with screens at night.

A sign that inspires: rest remade

A man who had struggled for years with tiredness, irritability and weak memory decided to remake his life. He kept restraint in the timing and quantity of his evening meal, took up a digital fast, and gave silence a place in his routine. Slowly his body came into rest — but more than that, his awareness woke.

This was no miracle, but the result of restraint, silence and discipline.

Conclusion

Sleeplessness is not merely the body’s tiredness — it is the dullness of awareness. If we make life not only movement but rest; if we understand the night not as darkness but as rebirth — that can help to lower the risk, assist in preventing illness, make treatment more effective, and improve the quality of life.

This chapter is a call — that we recognise the tired awareness within us, give it rest, and fill life with silence.