An Open Letter to the Girl Who Swore She’d Be in Bed by Ten

Dear Ava,

You have got to sleep! I must admit, this is a strange forum to use to talk to you, but I seem to have run out of options. Hopefully, being publicly shamed in a newspaper will make you listen.

Obviously, I understand. I admire your determination—your refusal to let the night win. But after too many evenings spent fighting the slow pull of exhaustion, only to wake up hopelessly tired, I must ask: how much longer will you run from rest?

The blue light from your laptop, which is as disruptive to your brain as the sun’s rays, dims. Your blue light glasses are no match for this level of exhaustion. The words on your screen blur. You blink, shake your head, and sit up straighter. But, the waves of fatigue press forward expecting the whip. You can fight them, but they will not yield. The night does not negotiate.

Simba (your dog) knows better. He bursts through the door, alive with the kind of energy you have long since wrung dry. He does not resist sleep. He does not resist joy. Why do you?

The bed waits. It does not demand or chase. It exists, open-armed—a quiet offering. And yet, you resist it as if it were an enemy, as if surrendering to sleep were a failure rather than a mercy.

You tell yourself that five more minutes at your desk will make a difference. The truth is, you should really be giving that time to your sleep, because even 15 minutes less than what your body requires is considered sleep deprivation. You believe the words on the screen will suddenly align, the thoughts will suddenly clarify. But, they do not. They blur and tangle, unraveling like thread pulled too tight.

You are not a machine. You are not endless. Even the waves rest between tides. 

And so, I ask you, Who are you without sleep? What are you without rest? A mind running on fumes. A body held together by sheer stubbornness. A heart too tired to care as deeply as it should.

Have you considered how this lifestyle affects those around you? Your insistence on putting sleep last forces you to damage the relationships and commitments you’re trying to preserve by skipping out on rest. You become a less engaged student, an irritable sister, an unattached friend, and an overall less enhanced version of Ava.

The irony is that sleep reduces stress, improves your mood, and boosts your immune system—all things you stay up late worrying about.

Close the laptop. Turn off the lamp. Step away before exhaustion makes the choice for you. Your responsibilities won’t disappear into the night. When you wake, you will not regret the hours given to sleep. You will only wonder how you ever thought you could live without them. Perhaps you may even set an example for those around you—those you claim to care about, yet punish with your insomnia.

With much love,
Your Weary but Wiser Self