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Statement of Need

Intro

There has been a recent misunderstanding that sleep duration is on a decline in the
modern world. There have been many studies done but many have come to a similar
conclusion: sleep has not been on the decline for healthy sleepers (Youngstedt).
However these studies do show one thing, there is a portion of the population that has
difficulty falling and staying asleep (Cleveland Clinic). This article will focus on a few of
the reasons why some people might have difficulty falling asleep, and how that can
affect their day to day lives.

Anxiety

There are often many anxieties that people face everyday. For most people it is likely
that these anxieties are surface level and aid in their everyday tasks by providing just
enough stress to the body to remind them of their anxieties and responsibilities
(Youngstedt). However, for some people anxiety is pushed much further. This anxiety
can often affect an individual’s sleep patterns as the stress that their worries place on
their bodies prevent them from falling asleep (Cleveland Clinic). These anxieties can
also be caused by sleep itself. Sleep anxiety is worrying about issues surrounding sleep
itself (Cleveland Clinic). For example, the act of trying to fall asleep can bring up anxiety
about how much time an individual has left until they need to wake up. Another example
is being too anxious about nightmares or even just poor sleep to be able to fall asleep.

Taylor Rally, a freshman at Oklahoma Community College, discussed how her anxiety
prevents her from sleeping. She stated, “Honestly, most of the time I feel as though I
spend more time staring at my ceiling, worried about falling asleep, than I do actually
sleeping.” She also stated, “The anxiety is an all day event but I feel like it's the worst
when I lay down, I only have time to think about what I have to do tomorrow and that’s
what stresses me out the most.” Taylor’s experience is often echoed from those with
anxiety. The overwhelming feeling of stress before bed will keep a person awake
despite their need for sleep.

Physical Health

Physical health is another reason in which someone might have difficulty falling asleep.
Ailments that cause pain or discomfort can often be the preventative to sleep. Many
individuals who suffer from chronic pain are offered medication to aid both in their
ailment but as well as sleep (Harvard Health). This is due to the pain keeping the patient
up at night as the discomfort that arises overwhelms the body's ability to sleep.
However, many sleep medications such as melatonin, a popular over the counter
option, can cause damage to an individual’s sleep cycle. Melatonin in particular can
disrupt the body’s natural production of sleep inducing chemicals (Cleveland Clinic).
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This means that when a person stops taking the medication, sleep difficulties will likely
be encountered as their body is reliant on the medication.

Gabby Lloyd is a server and suffers from chronic knee pain. She states, “The pain will
keep me up a lot and I try not to take too much medicine to fix that. I tried melatonin but
now it doesn’t affect me anymore. Also when I regularly took it, it was hard to not take
them to fall asleep.” Gabby also explained that doctors are hesitant to prescribe her
stronger sleep aids because of her experience with melatonin. She claims they are
worried that many solutions will not work for her. Gabby is an example of a person who,
outside of their emotions, finds difficulty sleeping. Her physical ailments cause a
disruption in her normal sleep cycle.

Why Sleep is Important

Cleveland Medical Clinic outlines many issues that may arise from individuals not
getting enough sleep. These include:
● Feelings of being overwhelmed.
● Inability to concentrate.
● Irritability.
● Nervousness.
● Restlessness.
● Sense of impending danger or doom.

Many of these symptoms can feedback into issues that arise from specifically anxiety
around sleep. This causes a loop in which poor sleep from the night before can lead to
poor sleep the next night. This perceptual disturbance of sleep can lead to many long
term health complications. The Cleveland Medical Clinic outlines these as:
● Diabetes.
● Heart attack.
● Heart disease.
● Heart failure.
● High blood pressure.
● Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).
● Obesity.
● Stroke.

These symptoms can lead to further complications with sleep that may arise. For
instance, suffering a heart attack from lack of sleep can cause more anxiety around
sleep. These complications can also lead to chronic physical ailments that can also
affect sleep. Having difficulty sleeping often builds upon itself and causes individuals to
fall into a cycle of sleep difficulty.

Conclusion

Anxiety around sleep and chronic pain are both just a few of many reasons in which a
person might have difficulty sleeping. For these few individuals there seems to be little
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that can be done to break the cycle of poor sleep. Current sleep aids often can cause
more disruption to the sleep cycle in the long term. It is clear that for a portion of the
population, sleep is difficult to achieve and often an attempt can be antagonistic towards
these people.
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Works Cited

“How to Sleep Well despite Chronic Pain.” Harvard Health, 15 Nov. 2016,
https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/how-to-sleep-well-despite-chronic-pain#:~:te
xt=One%20approach%20is%20to%20take,whatever%20relaxing%20distraction
%20you%20favor.

“Injury Recovery: Why Sleep Is so Important.” Prime Surgical Suites, Prime Surgical
Suites, LLC, 18 Aug. 2022,
https://www.primesurgicalsuites.com/blog/injury-recovery-why-sleep-is-so-import
ant.

“Sleep Anxiety: What Is It, Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Sleep Anxiety, Cleveland
Clinic, 13 June 2021,
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21543-sleep-anxiety.

Youngstedt, Shawn D, et al. “Has Adult Sleep Duration Declined over the Last 50+
Years?” Sleep Medicine Reviews, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2016,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769964/.
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Fiction Piece

Jake sat nervously in the conference room, staring at the clock as the minutes ticked by.
He had a big presentation the next day and he wasn't feeling at all prepared. He had
spent the entire night before going over his slides, trying to make sure that everything
was perfect, but it seemed like the more he worked on it, the more nervous he became.

As the meeting wore on, Jake found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. His mind kept
wandering back to his presentation and all the things that could go wrong. By the time
the meeting was over, he was exhausted and anxious.

He knew he needed to get some sleep, but the thought of lying in bed, staring at the
ceiling, was almost too much to bear. Every night Jake would lie in bed and anxiously
think about what he had to do the next day. Then, he would think about how as he
stayed awake with anxiety he was losing time to sleep before he had to wake up. This
issue had become so bad that he decided to go see his doctor and see if there was
anything he could do to help. Luckily his doctor had an opening the night before Jake’s
presentation.

Jake left the conference room and packed his bag. As Jake reached the door to the
office his boss Mr. Hargrove stopped him.

“Jake, you’re leaving early?” Mr Hargrove asked.

“Yessir, I have an appointment with my doctor.” Jake replied.

“Do you have that presentation for YoWare Inc. ready for tomorrow morning?”

“Of course.” Jake said through a weak smile.

“Good. They’re a really important client so I’m glad I can be so confident in you.”

Jake stiffened with anxiety. “I appreciate that Mr. Hargrove. It's gonna be a good one.”

***

Jake sat down on the table in the doctor’s office. The smell of cleaning chemicals
flooded his senses. He anxiously waited for his doctor to show up. Soon, there was a
knock at the door, followed by the entrance of Jake’s doctor.

“Good afternoon Mr. Sallow.” the doctor said.

“Hey.” Jake replied.

“I’ve heard you had some difficulty sleeping. Can you tell me more about that?”
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The doctor listened sympathetically as Jake described his anxiety and insomnia. She
recommended a new sleep aid device that was supposed to be seamless and easy to
use.

“The device simply goes on your temple or the back of your neck. Then you turn it on
and off to sleep.” the doctor said.

“And there’s no side effects? I just fall asleep, and that's it?” Jake said.

“That’s it. The device will naturally guide your sleep cycle to wake you up at whatever
time you choose. It should bypass all of this anxiety that’s been keeping you up.”

Jake was skeptical. He had never heard of such a device. His doctor explained that it
had just become available on the market.

“The first few patients I recommended it to couldn’t praise it enough. I’m sure it’ll be
helpful in your case.”

Jake left the doctor’s office and took a driverless taxi to the local drug store. He walked
up to the counter and asked the pharmacist for the sleep aid. The pharmacist came
back witha small circular device that came in a simple cardboard box. Jake purchased
the sleep aid and walked back outside the store. A driverless taxi reversed out of a
parking spot and pulled up to the curb in front of Jake to take him home.

On the ride home, Jake continued to think about his presentation. The presentation was
first thing in the morning and Jake was worried he would be tired despite the new sleep
aid. Anxiety about the sleep aid filled his head. Would the device actually help? How
could it make you fall asleep so quickly? Will he be up even later that night worried
about the sleep aid itself?

***

Later on that evening, Jake got ready for bed. He brushed his teeth, washed his face,
and put his phone onto his bedside charger. He then opened the sleep aid box and
emptied its contents onto his bed. Inside the box was a simple set of instructions. He
downloaded the sleep aid companion app and placed an adhesive backing onto the
sleep aid. He then placed the device on his temple. As he did this, the app explained
that the sleep aid will send signals directly to his brain to call him to sleep. The signals
are the same that the body would naturally produce during sleep. Jake set the time in
the app for 6:00am. He then hit the big red button labeled “sleep” on the app. As he lay
there, he felt a strange tingling sensation on his forehead, but it wasn't unpleasant. In
fact, he found it rather soothing. Despite the sensation, Jake felt an overwhelming
feeling of anxiety. Questions flooded his head. What if his presentation was not good
enough? What if he–

Before Jake could finish his thought, the device had instantly put him to sleep.
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***

The next morning, Jake woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. He felt like he had slept
deeply and had even had a few vivid dreams. He went about his day, feeling much more
relaxed and focused than he had in a long time.

As he prepared for his presentation, Jake felt a newfound sense of confidence. He had
slept well and he felt prepared for whatever might come his way. When he stepped up
to the podium, he felt calm and collected. He delivered his presentation flawlessly,
impressing his audience with his knowledge and expertise.

After the presentation was over, Jake breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it. He had
conquered his anxiety and he had given a successful presentation. He knew that the
sleep aid device had played a big role in his success, but he also knew that it was his
own determination and hard work that had gotten him there.
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Artist’s Statement

The inspiration from my fiction piece comes from my own experiences dealing with
sleep anxiety. I personally deal with many anxieties and stresses when it comes to
falling asleep and even obtaining enough sleep. The issue is also pervasive within my
immediate family. My mother often loses entire nights of sleep due to her anxieties
towards the act of sleeping. I know many more people that suffer from sleep anxiety and
it is an issue that many do not talk about despite it having a major impact on their lives
and health.

For the piece itself, I took inspiration from Star Trek. In the series, technology is used as
a tool to help better human lives and solve humanity's problems. In doing so it creates a
utopia where most of humanity’s current day issues have been solved. In my fiction
piece, I allowed for the sleep aid device that Jake uses to be an immediate solution to
one of his many problems. By doing this, the conflict of the story lies within the personal
problems of the character instead of the larger world. It also provides a sense of utopian
ideals. These ideals seem to heavily appeal to the issues of sleep anxiety as an
immediate solution to the problem would be welcomed.

I tried to keep the main character as open to interpretation as possible. By only

providing a name and some minor details about his place of work, audiences can insert
themselves into the fantasy of obtaining instant sleep. Had I chosen to provide more
details about the character it would have made this goal more difficult to pursue.