I’m wide awake.
The dulcet tones of Katy Perry reverberated through the taxi as it pulled away from Chicago O’Hare Airport.
It was a chilly, rainy morning in early fall. One of those dreary days where a cup of Starbucks and Katy Perry on the radio would be a nice proxy for an alarm clock.
Yet, I had been awake for six hours already. I had caught two separate flights while traveling from Texas to Illinois to visit my sister. And I’d done all this on three hours of sleep.
Hearing I’m wide awake over and over again in that vehicle was like a cruel joke. I wasn’t having it.
No! I thought. I am NOT wide awake!
Yet, I soldiered through.
I survived the long ride to Evanston, where I rendezvoused with my sister — at the time a senior at Northwestern University. We then headed down to Chicago for some sightseeing, culminating our trek with dinner at my favorite restaurant.
It was a great day. A glorious day. Yet, my only ammunition to ward off exhaustion was iced coffee and a catnap.
So, by about 8:30 PM, I was toast. I passed out on my sister’s couch.
I think about this day often, for two reasons.
First, it ruined a perfectly good Katy Perry song.
Second, it encapsulates the past decade of my life.
I’ve kept my days busy. I’ve achieved a lot in a condensed period of time.
But what I’ve not done is get enough sleep.
This is partially due to logistics. Working an evening shift in my TV news days — and, years later, taking business school classes at night — meant I had to get used to jetting out of town at the crack of dawn when I wanted to travel.
This is partially due to necessity. I could tackle my tri-weekly two-mile outdoor run on a scorching Texas summer afternoon, I suppose. But running at dawn — when the heat is less oppressive — seems like a safer bet. And that requires getting up early.
And this is partially due to my nature. I’m a morning person who would rather be out and about than sleep in.
But regardless of the cause, all of it is an issue.
Don’t count the days. Make the days count.
Those powerful words come from the late Muhammad Ali. They’ve been quoted time and again.
But with great power comes great responsibility. And we’ve been using The Greatest’s words in vain.
Entrepreneurs — particularly those in Silicon Valley — invoke Ali when they treat sleeplessness as a badge of honor. The gig economy encourages millions of people to work 18 hours at a time. And many of us — including me — pack our days with activities, whether it’s a workday or not.
This is asinine.
We are humans, not machines.
We perform best when we’re most energized.
Yet, we only have a finite amount of energy. Energy that depletes over time and must be replenished.
Much as it takes time for our smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices to recharge, our bodies take time to replenish energy.
Traditional wisdom has said we need eight hours of uninterrupted rest. I’m lucky if I get six hours in an average night. Many others are even worse off than I am in this regard.
And no matter what some might say, we can’t make these hours up. Binge-sleeping doesn’t undo the damage of chronic exhaustion.
This is an issue. A major issue.
And motivational quotes about our productivity culture aren’t helping it one bit.
There is a prevailing narrative that as long as we’re awake, we’re capable of great things.
This is a myth.
When we’re exhausted, we’re compromised.
Sure, we’re able to see, to walk, to speak. But we’re also more easily agitated, more prone to error and a danger to ourselves and others.
Drowsy driving can be as devastating as drunk driving. And those heated late-night arguments with loved ones are extra vicious because our emotional control mechanisms are compromised
Even the toxic culture found at companies like Uber in recent years likely has roots in exhaustion. A company built on long days and sleepless nights doesn’t, by itself, spark misogyny. But the lingering corporate culture can spread acceptance system-wide.
Yes, there are profound dangers to our always-on culture.
Rapid advancements in technology might have made 24/7 commerce possible. And drinks supercharged with sugar and caffeine might have extended our daily time horizons.
But our bodies still rely on circadian rhythms. They’re in our nature.
We can try to innovate around this, but the results are inevitable. Inevitable and devastating.
As Dr. Malcolm says in Jurassic Park, Nature will always find a way.
So, what can we do to right ourselves?
It’s pretty simple. Commit to more sleep.
And while some might take this as an excuse to sleep in more, or work later shifts, I believe in the opposite.
I believe the answer lies in going to bed earlier and rising with the morning light.
For the sun is our ultimate guide. In the days before electricity and blackout shades, it had profound influence on our schedule.
Today — in the age of bars, nightclubs and late night TV — that pattern is reversed. We burn the midnight oil. We fight the sun, rather than work with it.
Getting back on the right track means getting attuned with nature.
And while I find this edict challenging as I balance a job and night classes, I am taking steps in the right direction.
I am committed to going to bed earlier on weekends, and on weekday evenings when I’m not in class. I even took a break in writing this article to get some shut-eye. At 10 PM on a Saturday when I had nothing on my schedule for the next day.
The result? I get my eight hours of sleep more often than I used to. And I wake up fully recharged more often as well.
We can all see benefits from following a policy like this one.
Sure, there will be sacrifices. No more midnight movies. No more taking advantage of cheap fare on red-eye flights.
But the benefits outweigh the costs.
Not only for us, but for everyone we come in contact with.
So, let’s do what we can to get the right amount of rest. Consistently.
That way, I’m wide awake can be more than a line in a Katy Perry song. It can be a universal reality.