Nap Time and Catastrophes: Rousing Connections

 Something as simple and commonplace as the lack of good sleep and rest can be - and has been - catastrophic. It's shocking how the mundane, every day, and simple things can be such a big deal!

Check it out - There are few things that everyone appreciates. 

One of these things: A good night's sleep is wonderful. Though a subjective statement, it will always be true.

No one enjoys fatigue, a slow brain, or trouble focusing.

Everyone appreciates being clear-headed, rested, and ready.

Yep.  Across the board, everyone will be better off in some way - reinvigorated and alert -  after a good night’s sleep, or solid nap.
And, unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, and for a large percentage of people, there are few things that have become more unattainable than adequate sleep. 

Transcript

You are listening to An ounce, Season 6, Episode 32, Nap Time and Catastrophes:  Rousing Connections 

There are few things that everyone appreciates. 

One of these things: A good night's sleep is wonderful. Though a subjective statement, it will always be true. 

No one enjoys fatigue, a slow brain, or trouble focusing. 

Everyone appreciates being clear-headed, rested, and ready. 

Yep.  Across the board, everyone will be better off in some way - reinvigorated and alert -  after a good night’s sleep, or solid nap. 

And, unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, and for a large percentage of people, there are few things that have become more unattainable than adequate sleep. Poor sleep can be caused by everything from physical exertion, mental stress, boredom, depression, to (as any parent can tell you) raising children. And, the numbers prove it. 

Let Me Sleep On It 

Humans are more often than not, struggling to one degree or another, with the effects of a lack of sleep - or some type of fatigue - at this very moment… or they will be at some point in their day. 

So what? Everybody is sleepy. Pick yourself up and shake it off, get with it, and keep going. I’ve been told and reminded that everyone who accomplished anything probably had to push through feeling crappy, and needing sleep, in order to do it. Right! So, lack of sleep is no big deal. 

Or, is it? 

In point of documented fact from multiple unimpeachable sources, fatigue, lack of sleep, and being tired have caused untold destruction and loss of life. 

Here are just a few examples: 

Prince William Sound Oil Spill 

On March, 24th, 1989, in Prince William Sound, an oil tanker called the Exxon Valdez ran aground. The super-tanker spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil. This oil had a devastating impact of 1300 miles of coastline. Two billion (1989) U.S. dollars were spent on clean-up. 

Why did this happen? Just as with every large-scale disaster, there were many points of failure. In this case, the tankers crew was working with little sleep prior before leaving port. At the time of impact, the person at the helm was a 3rd mate, who was unqualified to be in that position. Almost everyone else, given their sleep deprivation, had hit the sack. 

Bhopal, India Deadly Chemical Release 

At around 1 AM on December 3, 1984 3,800 people intently passed in their sleep in Bhopal, India. 

What happened? 

Due to fatigue, workers were unaware that there was a leak in a valve that was allowing a tank, already containing methyl isocyanate gas, to also being filled with water. This water entering the tank, already filled with this deadly chemical, caused a dangerous increase in pressure inside the tank. The resulting overpressure caused the tank to fail catastrophically, releasing a plume of the poison gas into the residential neighborhood located just outside the fence. 

3800 perished immediately. Another 15000 also died in the hours and days that followed. 600000 were injured. Injuries included lung damage and blindness, among other serious conditions. 

And More… 

Other notable calamities that were, in large part, caused by a lack of sleep and the loss of alertness, and clear thinking that go along with it, include: 

•        The 1979 3-mile Island nuclear disaster. 

•        The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. 

•        The grounding of the Star Princess in 1995. 

•        Multiple airline crashes. 

•        Multiple train crashes. 

•        Thousands of vehicle accidents. 

•        And countless other industrial and other mishaps. 

Yep – something as simple as sleep has caused – and will continue to cause – enormous destruction and huge loss of life. 

Where’s the Harm? 

There are several things we as individuals, and as a culture, don’t pay as much attention to as we should. Things, that if given a little more attention and mindfulness might make a huge difference to us, and the people we know, and love. But they are so common, so frequent, so routine, we often think, “where’s the harm? It happens all the time. It’s normal.” 

And it often boils down to simple choices we make when the situations might appear: 

•        Having one more drink – or not. Or deciding whether or not to experiment with recreational drugs: Frankly - alcohol and other recreational drugs impair judgement. So, don’t we need to understand that once we begin to imbibe, we might not be smart enough to stop before the line is crossed. 

•        Allowing our anger to direct our thoughts and actions. Many of us can’t accept the truth of the matter – we are responsible for what we do, and how we react. When we become angry, Nobody made us mad… we chose to be. 

•        Choosing to lie – or tell the truth. 

And in a time when suicide has become one of the biggest killers just being kind, paying attention to other, maintaining good social connection, being willing to listen and help, or just smiling at a stranger can and does make a difference. 

There are many little ounces of wisdom that might be gleaned from these events and perspectives. But might I suggest – for right now – we focus on just this 1. 

What really matters? 

What will make the difference? 

Sometimes we just don’t know, because life can’t always be accurately predicted – because it seems to just happen. But sometimes it can easily calculate. 

Avoiding a tragedy can be as simple and (unfortunately common) as choosing to, or choosing not to, respond to a text while you are driving. Or, letting some needed repair wait, just a little longer. 

Hey, sometimes this stuff works out just fine... at least until Murphy’s law comes into play. That unavoidable law of nature always does, eventually. And, one of the strongest truths of Murphy’s law is that you will not always be the exception. Because, as that law states, “When something can go wrong, it will”. And in the subtext, we read, “This time. Next time. Or one of the times after that. No exceptions.” 

So, here’s the ounce. 

An Ounce in this case is a simple, yet perplexing and exigent 2 part question: What matters most, and are you giving it the attention it requires? 

And, that’s it. An Ounce, submitted for your consideration.