Ancient Greek mythology (and possibly that of other cultures) wanted Sleep, father of Morpheus, to be the brother of Death and indeed his twin. What obviously unites the two brothers concerns, of course, the loss of consciousness that both bestow. Secondly, this similarity proves rather superficial. Either one subscribes to some form of “materialism,” in which case there is no consciousness or self after death to lose; or one adheres to more “idealist” positions, expecting to retain some form of consciousness after death rather than lose it (the desire never to cease existing is also a form of masochism). However, there is another kind of kinship that connects the two brothers. Their sacredness. Just as it constitutes desecration to profane the body of a dead person, so too a sleeping body is approached with restraint; to prevent someone from sleeping constitutes a typical sample of impiety.
Western societies may excel at cultivating spacious consciousnesses that accommodate everything and dismiss everything unquestioningly, but they struggle to let go of this miserable, hapless, and malformed consciousness when it’s time for sleep. However, since techno-science (along with democracy) has no dead ends, sleep comes to them via delivery in the form of a pill. So far, as in recent years the so-called sleep engineering has made leaps and promises miracles.
If you have trouble falling asleep and experience nightmares, you can participate in a study during which you’ll visit a laboratory, listen to a beautiful, relaxing piano piece, and imagine yourself taking a peaceful walk in the forest. The lab will also provide you with a device to wear while you sleep at night. This device is designed to detect when you enter the REM sleep stage (when your eyes move rapidly and is typically associated with vivid dreams) and play the same piano piece you practiced earlier for relaxation. And lo and behold, your nightmares may gradually begin to subside!
If you now want to quit smoking, you have the option to go back to a laboratory. However, this time you will have to sleep there. While you sleep, the laboratory technicians will monitor when you enter the REM stage, and at that moment they will simultaneously present to your nostrils two smells: one from cigarette smoke and one from rotten fish. By next week, you will have reduced your smoking by 30%! The fact that these interventions take place during the REM stage is, of course, not random. A dominant theory currently attributes to dreams (and therefore to the REM stage) the function of memory enhancement and the creation of new memories. During that stage, therefore, the brain is more “vulnerable,” more “plastic,” and receptive to new stimuli.
Techniques such as the above easily remind us of what was formerly, somewhat ironically, called “hypnopaedia.” In the era of the bioinformatics paradigm, however, they seem outdated. The most recent sleep management techniques aim to alter brain waves (those recorded by electroencephalograms) through more direct methods. Either by applying electrical stimuli to the skull of sleeping individuals or even inside their brains via implanted electrodes (Neuralink will probably be rubbing its hands in anticipation).
All these dream experiments naturally aim, as those who engage in them assure, at treating sleep-related disorders. However, the first warnings have already begun to be heard. And what if we could apply such techniques to improve memory overall or even specifically the ability to retain a particular type of information? A group of scientists recently even signed a statement warning about potential consequences from uncontrolled use of sleep devices and sleep techniques. As one of them aptly phrased it, if advertising companies pay millions to capture your attention for even 30 seconds, how much would they be willing to pay to have you under their control for 8 hours?
The phrase of Benjamin has become famous, “if the enemy wins, not even the dead will be safe“. A phrase that has been confirmed again and again. Now it seems that it is the turn of Death’s twin, Sleep, to be desecrated. Not even the sleeping will be safe…
Separatrix
