High on Exhaustion

Ryan Billington

12-5-05

AP English

Journal Entry Essay

High on Exhaustion

            A man stumbles down the sidewalk.  His eyes are bloodshot and his clothes and hair are rumpled.  He trips on the uneven surface of the sidewalk and falls to the ground.  Most people would assume that this man is abusing some type of substance.  But the man is not high, drunk, or wasted; he just hasn’t slept for 4 days.  Although most people never consider it, the experience of living in an exhausted state is remarkably similar the “high” effect produced by the misuse of drugs or alcohol.  Inability to focus, vagueness or loss of memory, the condition of finding mundane events uproarious, and experiencing strange feelings are usually all thought of as drug-induced states; but exhaustion produces similar effects.

            Examples supporting such a conclusion lay hidden on every side.  Examine the driving situation:  a car weaves down a two-lane road.  It drifts into the left lane, and jerks back into the right.  All of the driver’s actions are delayed, and car is barely staying on the asphalt.  The driver is in a semi-conscious state:  is he drunk, or is he drowsy?  The meager evidence makes it difficult to answer, because the actions of a drunk driver and a sleepy driver while on the road are alike.  In accidents, both survive more often than people that are awake and alert, and both usually find it difficult to recall the events leading up to the accident.  Many more illustrations can be drawn:  physical side effects, the prohibition of alcohol and sleeping agents…

            Everyone reacts differently when confronted with sleep deprivation.  Some people become moody, quickly rising in rage over the most innocent misunderstanding.  Others seem happily disconnected from reality, while still others are transformed into very mellow creatures, flowing along with the current of life.  Exhaustion changes the psychological, physical, and emotional aspects of a person’s life.  Common sense becomes not so common, and the process of logical thought is suddenly filled with pitfalls and snares.  Because they are seeing life differently, individuals in a semi somnambulant state experience different emotions than they normally would.  A drowsy person often seems to move through the day as if they were encased in quicksand.  But can’t all of these descriptions be applied to someone who is involved with drugs or alcohol?  The similarities are striking... once normal people are transformed into angry drunks, mellow marijuana smokers, and emotionally unstable meth addicts.

            Imagine a world in which these similarities were realized; a world in which alcohol, heroin, LSD, marijuana, PCP, and methamphetamines didn’t exist, replaced by lack of sleep.  In such a world alcohol wouldn’t claim millions of lives per year.  Teenagers wouldn’t die from overdosing on drugs, ruin their lives with addictions, or destroy their minds with substances.  Babies wouldn’t suffer from the effects of drugs and alcohol at birth.  Suicide rates would drop.  Depression would be almost non-existent.  To escape from life, all someone would need is time and a pillow.  They could call in sick, stay up for 2 days, sleep for one, and return to ordinary life the next day, without side effects.  Imagine such a world…