The idea that the masses in
society have become mentally (and physically) weak because of the declining amount of
time and quality of sleep they get.
In the Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn says, "sleeplessness befogs the reason, undermines the will, and the human being ceases to be himself, to be his own 'I.'"
Instead of Soviet-era prisoners, imagine the modern
society in which the majority lack sufficient sleep. The main difference here in modern society is that the sleep deprivation process is not physically enforced by the regime, but its rather determined by the choices of the individual. These are choices that individuals make that can impede their sleep. Commonly we see
people consume products (fast food, caffeine, etc.) and use technological devices (phone use late at night) that will harm their sleep schedule.
Was it ever really normal for kids in
school to have only a few hours of sleep until recently? Of course not, but the use of addictive substances and devices recently has allowed this to happen. The result of sleep deprivation from these products on a mass scale is that
people are much more susceptible to deviate from societal norms because they lack the agency to maintain them. With
people lacking the willpower to maintain societal norms, this serves as an excellent opportunity for regimes. Regimes will then craft narratives for the weak-willed
people, and these
people will naturally incorporate these ideas within their moral framework.
