(est. 2021) explores the intersections of technology, culture, and human experience. From urban phenomena and digital spirituality to the evolving landscapes of creativity, we investigate how modern life reshapes perception, identity, and society.
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#21 — VIOL: the ‘anti-violence’ drug that is spreading through Lisbon by Mark Ellison
#20 — Signal Ghosts: The Cities Where Wi-Fi Never Dies
#19 — Digital Detox Retreats: Escaping the Algorithm by Cassandra Myrren
#18 — The Urban Sleep Crisis by Eleanor Voss
#17 — Cryptic Art: NFTs and the Revaluation of Creativity by Marcus Ellwood
#16 — Virtual Pilgrimages: Religious Experience Online by Mark Ellison
#15 — The Dark Side of Wellness: When Self-Optimization Becomes Obsession by Eleanor Voss
#14 — AI Companions and the Loneliness Epidemic by Isolde Maren
#13 — The Rise of Microdosing in Corporate Culture by Cassandra Myrren
#12 — Sonic Immunity: Healing Through Frequencies by Cassandra Myrren
#11 — The Ethics of Immortality by Adrien Veyra
#10 — Algorithmic Faith: When Machines Preach by Mark Ellison
#09 — Post-Human Erotics: Desire Beyond the Flesh by Elin Vårnes
#08 — Synthetic Memory: The Future of Personal Archives by Caio Navarro
#07 — Neurosprawl: Mapping the Brain as a City by Eleanor Voss
#06 — The Archive Will Outlive You by Liang Wei
#05 — Eternal Scroll: The Infinite Feed as a Prison by Isolde Maren
#04 — Terraforming the Mind by Alessio Romano
#03 — Digital Necromancy by Mark Ellison
#02 — Speculative Hunger: Future Diets in a Synthetic World by Cassandra Myrren
#01 — The Ecology of Glitches by Alessio Romano
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In the heart of modern cities, sleep has become a casualty of urban life. The hum of traffic, the flicker of neon lights, and the constant digital pulse of our devices conspire against the simple act of resting. Where once the night was a natural pause, it is now a contested terrain. Sleep, a biological necessity, has been transformed into a luxury and, in some quarters, a form of social control.
Recent studies indicate that urban dwellers average 1–2 hours less sleep than their rural counterparts, with consequences rippling across physical, mental, and social health. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to cardiovascular issues, anxiety, depression, and even impaired cognitive function. But the crisis is more than physiological—it is ontological. In a city that never sleeps, our perception of time, space, and self becomes fragmented, echoing the urban theorists’ warnings of a society under constant pressure.
Noise pollution is a principal offender. The World Health Organization’s Environmental Noise Guidelines (2018) highlight that prolonged exposure to traffic, industrial, and recreational noise significantly disrupts sleep patterns. Beyond volume, it is the unpredictability of sound—the sirens, construction, late-night traffic—that fractures rest. Michel Foucault might frame this as a form of disciplinary power: the city structures the rhythms of life, regulating bodies and minds through its sonic architecture.
Light pollution compounds the problem. Artificial illumination—streetlights, signage, and digital screens—suppresses melatonin production, delaying sleep onset and reducing sleep quality. Urbanites inhabit a “constant twilight,” a condition that philosopher Reza Negarestani might interpret as an externalization of cognitive demand: our environments shape not only our actions but the very structure of our thinking.
The psychological dimension is equally profound. Sleep is increasingly mediated by digital devices: notifications, social media feeds, and the omnipresent “fear of missing out” prevent detachment. Grandner et al. (2010) suggest that digital overexposure mimics the effects of stressors, producing a heightened arousal state incompatible with rest. The city becomes a machine of attention extraction, where every moment is commodified—even the night.
Yet the crisis is not merely technical; it is cultural. Urban societies valorize productivity, embedding the ethic of sleeplessness into the fabric of life. As Matthew Walker (2017) emphasizes, sleep is essential for memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and creativity. By neglecting it, we not only harm our bodies but erode the imaginative capacities that sustain culture itself.
Some cities have experimented with solutions. Noise barriers, dimmed street lighting, “quiet hours,” and digital detox campaigns aim to reclaim sleep for citizens. These initiatives, while well-intentioned, often reveal deeper social inequities: who can afford to sleep undisturbed in the city, and who cannot? The urban sleep crisis, then, is inseparable from broader questions of social justice, public policy, and the philosophy of urban life.
As we navigate the illuminated, noisy, and hyperconnected city, the simple act of sleep becomes radical. In refusing to surrender entirely to the rhythms of urban capitalism, we resist the subtle forms of control embedded in our environments. Sleep, it seems, is not merely a biological act but a political and philosophical stance—a reclaiming of autonomy in a city designed to consume attention.
The urban sleep crisis is ongoing, insidious, and multifaceted. It is both measurable in hours lost and felt in the quiet desperation of those who wander sleepless streets. In confronting it, we confront the contradictions of modernity itself: the promise of progress and connection versus the reality of exhaustion and fragmentation. How cities manage sleep may well be how they negotiate the balance between human needs and urban imperatives, between life as it is and life as it could be.
References
- Basner, M., Babisch, W., Davis, A., Brink, M., Clark, C., Janssen, S., & Stansfeld, S. (2014). Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health. The Lancet, 383(9925), 1325–1332.
- Grandner, M. A., Patel, N. P., Gehrman, P. R., Perlis, M. L., & Pack, A. I. (2010). Problems associated with short sleep: Bridging the gap between laboratory and epidemiological studies. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 14(4), 239–247.
- Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books.
- World Health Organization. (2018). Environmental noise guidelines for the European Region. WHO Regional Office for Europe.
- Petit, C., et al. (2020). Urban environments and circadian disruption: Impacts on sleep and health. Journal of Urban Health, 97(5), 654–668.
- Hale, L., & Guan, S. (2015). Screen time and sleep among school-aged children and adolescents: A systematic literature review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 21, 50–58.
- Walker, M. (2017). Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner.