What if you only aged while awake?
You only get older during the hours you’re awake. A good night’s sleep now keeps you young, literally.
Nine in the evening, and the street is already empty.
The first night
People go to bed at eight and set their alarms for ten the next morning. Nobody calls an afternoon nap lazy any more. It’s just sensible.
By nine in the evening the streets are empty, and cafés that open at six in the morning have no customers.
The first winter
Employers face an awkward question. Every hour at work is an hour of someone’s life, in a very literal sense, so unions demand shorter shifts and better pay for overtime. Some companies put in sleeping rooms and encourage a nap after lunch.
Sleeping pills and blackout blinds sell out. Insomnia used to be exhausting. Now people are afraid of it.
Five years on
You can read a lot about someone’s life in their face. People who sleep ten hours a night look years younger than their friends. Parents of small children, nurses and night-shift workers look older, and everyone knows why.
Two people born on the same day can be several years apart in age. Birthdays still come once a year, but nobody agrees on what they count any more.
Who wins
- Good sleepersTen hours a night now comes with a younger face.
- Mattress and blind makersSleep is the cheapest anti-ageing treatment there is.
Who loses
- New parentsThe baby wakes them three times a night, and it shows.
- Night workersThey’re paid for the hours, and they pay for them too.
- InsomniacsA bad night now costs more than a bad morning.
- Bosses who like long daysAsking for overtime means asking for part of someone’s life.
Sleep already does a lot: it repairs muscle, clears the brain and helps memory. Stopping the clock isn’t one of those things, and an extra hour in bed won’t change the date on your birth certificate.
Would you sleep more to stay young?
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