Sleeping early without being judged

It is strange what we are willing to sacrifice to prove our worth as working people. In the metropolis, the ability to stay awake and keep going on empty, running on too many to count cups of coffee, to grind despite of extreme exhaustion, has become a marker of productivity. But in smaller cities, sleeping early is simply what people do. No one judges you for it. Going back to our small city, I’ve come to realize how this difference says everything about what metrics we’ve decided to describe what a productive working person should be.

Turning the lights off at eight in the evening seems impossible when you are in the metropolis. You’d probably still be on the road and in traffic heading home, or out with friends as you try to find time for socializing amid your rather tight work schedules. But even if you could make it home by eight, you would still feel obliged to perform all the house duties you’ve left during the workday.

In the metro, your circles may even find you lazy for going to bed early, or probably think you are simply filthy rich to afford the luxury of rest. “Sleep is for the weak,” or “Those who love sleep are damned to fail in life,” are typical tirades hurled at you, glorifying the restless and constantly tired working man. Sure, they may appear productive on daytime but are actually mentally zoning out from time to time, from the lack of sleep and solitude. The assumption goes like this: If you are not exhausted at the end of the day, you are not working hard enough.

But outside the metro, in the small cities that still feel like havens of rural life with access to public commons, you are never judged for sleeping early. In fact, you are expected to do so, with economic centers closing at eight in the evening. The society never imposes sleepless nights on working men. Sleep isn’t for the weak. Sleep isn’t a flaw to be shunned. Instead, sleep, and sleeping early, is expected so that the working man can be himself and express his humanity the best he can.

The difference is stark. In one place, rest is laziness. In another, rest is wisdom. The slow evenings, which turn into slow mornings, made me feel human again, unhurried by the invisible deadlines. Even when we do have to wake up before dawn, mornings still feel slower here than they would be in the metropolis.

I’ve stopped trying to defend sleeping early to those still grinding in the metro. Instead, I wonder about why they make it shameful to rest, especially those who are in power over the working class. Maybe the real failure isn’t choosing sleep. Maybe it’s building a life where sleep feels like a luxury you don’t deserve.

We are human and we need sleep.