如果家中有個人特別會睡，動不動就秒睡，而且經常叫不起來，家人往往會在聊天時將他視為「異類」，認為這樣的人不太正常。

如果朋友當中，有人每天堅持十點準時上床，我們也容易覺得他與這個時代格格不入。

畢竟，這已經是21世紀了，不是20世紀，更不是19世紀。

那麼你呢？每天幾點上床？十一點？十二點？一點？甚至更晚？

現代社會裡，幾乎沒人會在晚上九點就寢，電視劇正播得精彩，街坊鄰居在庭院談天說笑。

是睡眠的定義變了？還是我們的價值觀出了差錯？還是說，現代人能做的事太多了，以致於睡眠的時間不得不一再被壓縮？

 

許多人即便晚睡，依然得早起，比如國高中生、工廠作業員、汽車維修技師……。

這是一個重要且必須面對的議題：我們的睡眠時間，正被這個時代大量挪用與犧牲，取而代之的是工作、娛樂、社交，甚至是無止境的緊湊與焦慮。

在這一切看似理所當然的生活安排下，求診的頻率自然也水漲船高，身體出現病痛的機率更是隨之升高。

你經常會聽到人們說：「最近記性變差」、「又便秘了」、「整天都很累、很想睡覺」。

我們每個人或多或少都有學生時代在課堂上打瞌睡的經驗，成年後，也常在沙發上看著電視就睡著了。

甚至開車時，也曾有那種在高速公路上短暫失神、瞬間驚醒的可怕經驗。

 

但有一個問題，人們很少真正問過自己：「人為什麼要睡覺？」

身處忙碌社會的我們，有時甚至會心生怨懟：「睡覺好浪費時間。」

可我們的潛意識卻在不斷提醒：唯有睡眠，人才能真正活著。

只是我們極少認真看待這個訊息。「睡好，人才能活得好」，這句話從未真正進入我們的深層思考。

理財專家從不鼓勵無節制借貸，但社會上卻遍地都是「睡眠債」累積的理財顧問，他們幫客戶算錢，卻忽略自己身體的赤字。

欠下的睡眠債，就像是向身體開出借據，時間到了就得還本付息，否則利滾利到最後，身體會直接將你列為拒絕往來戶。

 

作為目前地球上進化程度最高的生物，我們應該反問自己：

「既然「睡眠」被進化保留下來，是否代表它在生命中擁有極其關鍵的價值？」

不僅如此，進化還細膩地雕琢了睡眠的結構與節奏。

直到近代，科學家才告訴我們：「睡眠，其實是進化的傑作。」

 

再問你一個與睡眠息息相關的問題：「人類在什麼情況下最沒有防衛能力？」

試想遠古時代的我們，睡在山洞或樹上的祖先，再看看現在夜晚熟睡在屋內的自己。

答案不言而喻，就是睡眠。

因此，有人說：「人每天都在重生，也每天都死去一次。」

因為在熟睡的狀態下，我們幾乎處於完全癱瘓的狀態。

一旦入睡，我們會失去對時間的感知，也會喪失對外界感官的察覺。

有多少惡人利用人熟睡的片刻行惡？又有多少加害者，試圖讓受害者陷入昏睡，才能輕易下手？

 

睡眠，是人體動能最低的狀態。

但進化之所以設計這段「癱瘓時間」，是為了讓我們在甦醒後擁有更強的體能與智能，就如動物的冬眠機制一般。

睡眠，本是人類演化出的偉大成就。

最遺憾的是：人類集體的、頑固地拒絕了這份進化的智慧，這只是我們輕視自然法則的冰山一角。

而身為曾經輕視睡眠的重要性、甚至以犧牲睡眠為榮的共犯，我們依然很難把「不重視睡眠」這個行為，與疾病的發生連結起來。（待續）

 

（你的未來取決於你的夢境，所以，去睡覺吧。）

 

The Failure of Evolution: Sleep (Part I)

If there’s someone in your family who falls asleep instantly and is notoriously hard to wake up, chances are they’ll be labeled as “odd” during family conversations—as if there’s something abnormal about them.
Likewise, if among your friends there’s someone who consistently goes to bed at 10 p.m. every night, we tend to see them as out of sync with the times.

After all, this is the 21st century—not the 20th, and certainly not the 19th.
So, what about you? What time do you go to bed? Eleven? Midnight? One? Two in the morning? Or even later?
In modern society, almost no one sleeps at 9 p.m. anymore. Prime-time dramas are still airing, and neighbors are still chatting in the courtyard.

So the question is—has the definition of sleep changed with the times? Or have our values shifted?
Or perhaps modern life simply offers too many things to do, and sleep becomes the first thing we sacrifice?

Many people stay up late yet still have to rise early—high school students, factory workers, automotive technicians…
This is a serious issue we must confront: our sleep time is being constantly borrowed, traded, and sacrificed for work, entertainment, social obligations, and an endless pace of urgency and anxiety.

Under this seemingly “normal” lifestyle, doctor visits are on the rise, and so are physical ailments.
You often hear people say, “Lately, my memory’s been getting worse,” or “I’m constipated again,” or most commonly, “I’m exhausted—I just want to sleep.”
All of us have dozed off in class at some point during our student years, and later in adulthood, many of us have fallen asleep watching TV on the couch.
Some might even recall the terrifying experience of dozing off briefly while driving on the highway—only to jolt awake in a panic.

Yet there’s one question we rarely ask ourselves: Why do we need to sleep?
As members of a relentlessly busy society, we sometimes resent it: “Sleeping feels like such a waste of time.”
But our subconscious keeps whispering the truth: without sleep, we cannot truly live.
We rarely take this inner voice seriously. The idea that “sleep well, live well” has yet to take root in our deeper awareness.

Financial advisors warn against irresponsible debt.
And yet, society is full of “sleep-deprived consultants”—people who calculate wealth for others while ignoring their own bodily deficits.
Sleep debt is like writing an IOU to your body. Eventually, the interest adds up. If you don’t repay it, your body may blacklist you altogether.

As the most evolved species on Earth, perhaps we should ask ourselves:
If sleep has been preserved through evolution, doesn’t that mean it holds immense value for life itself?
More than that—evolution didn’t just preserve sleep, it refined its structure and rhythm.
Only in recent times have scientists begun to declare: “Sleep is one of evolution’s finest masterpieces.”

Let me ask you another question closely tied to sleep: When is a human being at their most defenseless?
Think of our ancestors—sleeping in caves or in trees.
Now picture yourself, today, peacefully sleeping indoors at night.
The answer is clear: during sleep.

It’s no wonder some say, “We are reborn every day, and die a little each night.”
Because in deep sleep, we enter a state of near-total paralysis.
We lose track of time. Our senses shut down.
How many crimes have been committed while victims lay asleep?
How many perpetrators have found ways to put others to sleep just to carry out their intent?

Sleep is the body’s lowest energy state.
And yet, evolution specifically designed this “paralysis window” so that we can wake up with renewed physical and cognitive power.
Much like animals rely on hibernation, human sleep is a remarkable evolutionary triumph.

The tragedy is this: humanity has collectively and stubbornly rejected this evolutionary wisdom.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg of our disregard for nature’s laws.
As accomplices who once scoffed at the importance of sleep—some even proudly sacrificing it—we still struggle to link our neglect of sleep with the rise of disease.
(To be continued)