A Newsweek article provided both a historical look at sleep trends and practical advice about how to get more rest. According to the writer, we are to blame Thomas Edison for our modern sleep deprived state, for "… our classic eight-hour-night only dates back to the invention of the light bulb in the late 1800s." Even a recent study by the University of Chicago shows that we sleep "one to two hours less than we did 60 years ago."

The usual culprits are the problem: modern technology and the fact that "we've created and now live in a world where stimulation doesn't stop when the sun goes down … and it's making us all addicts." According to the article, "Sleep is perceived to be the enemy of efficiency: inescapable wasted blocks of time that can't be converted into anything of broader use to society."

Possible Preaching Angle:

But is such short-sighted "pragmatism" any replacement for the health and well-being of deep, holistic rest?