Would you never sleep if you could?

A genie appears before you. Unfortunately for you, he’s just started on the job and didn’t really pay attention to the training so he only knows how to grant a single, specific wish: to never have to sleep ever again.

You will remain physically capable of sleep; if necessary you can be chemically sedated, like for surgery or whatever, but on your own you will never, ever get tired enough to have to sleep, and you will never suffer any ill effects of sleep deprivation. At sometime around 400AM every morning you will blink and immediately be fresh as a daisy, as if you got 8 hours of sleep in an instant. If you were drunk, you will instantly become sober (or at least 8 hours less intoxicated).

This does not confer any other powers. Your natural lifespan will remain the same as it was before, you’ll just be awake the entire time.

Do you take him up on this wish or do you decline?

Why would anyone, even the greatest lovers of sleep, NOT take him up on this offer? From what I understand, whenever you want to, you can sleep for as long as you’d like, correct? So basically you’re just increasing your options by saying yes but not really committing to anything.
Suffice it to say, I’d say yes. And also I think I would rarely, if ever, sleep. That’s a whole extra third of my life I’d get back!

No. You can try, but without chemical sedation, you will never, ever sleep.

Yes; I do wonder how much humans would have progressed if they could be in more control of basic aspects of their biology.

Oh yes, absolutely. I don’t sleep well anyway, and when I do, it’s never at the time that really works for modern life. This is just basically solving the need to do something that has never really worked for me.

I voted no, but not so much for sleep-- for the dreams. I one of those people who remembers his dreams, and some of them are just fantastic. I would not want to give up that experience, which is just as real, at the time, as waking reality is.

Good God, no. I don’t “love” to sleep, nor do I do it very well, but I can’t imagine filling all that time.

Man, I’d be irritated if I finally found a genie and that was all it could offer me.

This. I love to sleep, I love my bed and my wonderful Cuddledown pillows, I love the sensation of falling asleep, and I love my dreams. I also like to nap because I have vivid dreams when I nap. Sometimes I take a nap *just *to have dreams–kind of like you might go to a certain restaurant because the service is so good. :slight_smile:

You only bought my sleep so you could steal my dreams.

Then no. This would be disruptive in the personal relations area for little real gain. Besides someone would find out and then EXPECT me to be productive 24/7 and I’d wind up working for de-facto less than minimum wage.

Is there an open bar available? :slight_smile:

I picked yes, I hate wasting time sleeping.

I have never been able to totally shut my brain down awake and I like shutting my brain down now and then so ------------ I’ll pass.

Sure. I’d take a graveyard shift job and get paid to on a chair somewhere without fucking up my ski time.

Prolly?
I’m a reluctant sleeper who only enjoys it occasionally, and only when I’m exhausted.
I sometimes think I’m almost afraid to go to sleep, like it will be the end of my existence and the person who wakes up next morning will be someone else entirely, just thinking they’re the same person.

It’s a freaky thought that comes over me just every now and then.

I was thinking this too, but then as **Gestalt **points out . .

So, if it’s optional, then yes, definately, so long as I can keep it secret from others. Don’t want people knowing they can call on me any time, or that I’ve met a genie.

Never! Often during the day I think about how later I’ll crawl into bed, get all snuggled in and comfy and read for an hour or so. It’s the best part of my day!

But this way you’d get several more hours of snuggly book time.

Definitely this, although I would try my hardest to make it a part time deal so I can have a least a few nights all to myself.

I would find it wonderful to have 8 or so hours where I have nothing to do but play games/watch tv. It would be a dream (hell yeah pun intended) for long-distance driving as well. Although is the time in which I’m blinked awake negotiable? 4 AM is really late, can we make it, say, 11?

Even without needing to sleep, I envision myself being mentally exhausted from being awake constantly.

Also, I love the whole idea of going to bed every night. Closing the door on the day. And waking up every morning with a clean slate, so to speak.

No thanks.

'night.
mmm

You’re really savouring that sleep time. :smiley:

I love sleeping. It’s one of the most satisfying things to experience. And dreams delight me.