THE CITY’S INSOMNIA

THE CITY’S INSOMNIA

13-AUG-ENG 8

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------Night now exists only on the clock, not in the city itself. The clock announces the stroke of midnight, yet the city’s day marches on. Markets remain open, screens glow, vehicles race, and machines have already shifted into the next cycle. Darkness once signaled the body to rest; now, light commands it to stay awake. We have come to view round-the-clock activity as a hallmark of modernity, yet it is human sleep that pays the price. We replaced the sun with electricity as our timekeeper, but we could not alter the body’s biological clock. It still wakes in the light and craves rest in the dark. While the city may deem the night conquered, the body still recognizes it as a necessity.

This urban insomnia is not the result of a single invention. Globalization linked disparate time zones, the digital economy made work available twenty-four hours a day, and consumer culture transformed the night into a marketplace. Factories operate to meet demand; call centers stay awake to align with the morning hours of distant lands. Hospitals, airports, transport, and security services cannot afford to pause at night. The problem lies not in these services, but in the mindset that views the city as an indefatigable machine. Gradually, sleep is shifting from a right to a luxury—those with means can afford to rest, while others keep the system running by selling off their sleep.

The first casualty of this ceaseless wakefulness is the human internal biological clock. This clock evolved in sync with the rising and setting of the sun, yet artificial light, screens, and late-night activities have thrown it into confusion. Sleep deprivation implies far more than just morning fatigue; it weakens memory, impairs decision-making, disrupts emotional balance, and compromises the immune system. This gives rise to yet another crisis: the experience of loneliness amidst the crowd. The city at night may appear vibrant from the outside, yet feel utterly hollow within. Lights intensify and noise levels rise, while human inner peace steadily diminishes.

Yet, we label this collective exhaustion as progress and efficiency. The prevailing logic suggests that since the world never sleeps, neither should we. However, no natural cycle remains active twenty-four hours a day; night follows day, sleep follows wakefulness, and rest follows labor. Through technology, humans have harbored the illusion of being independent of nature's laws—believing that time can be controlled, fatigue denied, and the body's limits stretched indefinitely. The city's sleeplessness is a manifestation of this very arrogance. While humans may appear to triumph in their struggle against nature, the ultimate price is paid by the body and mind.

The heaviest burden of this system falls upon those invisible workers whose sleepless nights ensure the safe slumber of others. Security guards keep watch all night, nurses stay awake in hospitals, sanitation workers prepare the city for the morning, truck drivers deliver goods, and restaurant staff work while the rest of the world rests. Their nights make others' days possible. Yet, society moves on, treating their exhaustion as the norm. Thus, the city's glitter rests upon a profound inequality: some possess the right to sleep at night, while many others trade their sleep for wages, fueling the city's round-the-clock economy.

Technology has now extended this sleeplessness beyond streets and workplaces, bringing it right into our homes and beds. Smartphones, the internet, news, messages, and constant entertainment have stripped the night of its status as the final sanctuary of private life. A person may lie in bed, yet their mind races across a screen. Time meant for sleep has transformed into just another hour for productivity or entertainment. Amidst constant information and noise, humans have lost their inner silence; the quiet now feels unsettling to them. In other words, the city at night no longer awakens merely on the outside; it remains awake within us as well.

Some efforts to address this crisis are visible. Certain cities are attempting to control nocturnal noise, limit unnecessary lighting, and strike a balance in working hours. However, these efforts will suffice only if our mindset shifts. We must acknowledge that sleep is not idleness but a cornerstone of life; rest is not a hindrance to productivity but a prerequisite for it. Staying awake around the clock is no achievement if it comes at the cost of one’s health, balance, and mental peace. The real question is not how many hours a city can remain open, but how many hours it allows its citizens to live and sleep in peace.

No matter how long a city stays awake, it cannot replace human sleep. The more light spreads, the deeper the need for darkness and sleep becomes. If we continue to deny this, a day will come when the city lights remain ablaze, yet its inhabitants will be exhausted, restless, and hollow within. True progress lies not in turning night into day, but in respecting human biological limits. The loss of sleep is not merely the loss of sleep; dismissing rest as unnecessary is an act of rebellion against the natural rhythm of one’s own body. A waking world holds meaning only if it preserves space for human sleep.