There was a time, only a few decades ago, when life was comparatively simple. Facilities were limited, technology had not invaded every corner of daily existence, and opportunities were fewer. Yet people often possessed something that seems increasingly rare today: peace of mind and contentment.

Families spent more time together. Evenings were shared with neighbours and friends. Conversations happened face to face, and life moved at a slower, more natural pace.
Today, the younger generation inhabits an entirely different world. Social media, intense competition, financial uncertainty and rapidly changing relationships have created a lifestyle in which the mind remains constantly occupied but rarely at peace. The irony is striking: despite better connectivity, greater comfort and improved opportunities, many young people are increasingly restless, anxious and unable to switch off.
In Kashmir, too, young people are experiencing the pressures of a technology-driven and highly competitive world. One consequence that deserves greater attention is sleep deprivation.
Sleep is not a luxury. It is a fundamental physiological need essential for the healthy functioning of the body and mind. It supports memory consolidation, emotional regulation, concentration and overall physical well-being. Yet many young people deliberately reduce their sleeping hours, often without realising the consequences until late nights become a habit.
When the Phone Replaces Sleep
One of the most visible reasons behind this changing sleep culture is the night-time use of smartphones and social media.
For many youngsters, bedtime no longer means putting the phone aside. Instead, it becomes the beginning of hours of scrolling, watching short videos, replying to messages, browsing social platforms and consuming an endless stream of content. What begins as “just five minutes” can easily stretch past midnight, 2 a.m. or even later.
The body follows an internal circadian rhythm that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland, normally rises at night and helps prepare the body for sleep. Prolonged exposure to light and stimulating content at night can interfere with this natural transition.
Adequate sleep also contributes to the regulation of appetite. Hormones such as leptin, which signals fullness, and ghrelin, which stimulates hunger, can be affected by inadequate sleep. Sleep deprivation may therefore contribute not only to tiredness but also to unhealthy eating patterns.
Late-night wakefulness, then, is not simply about losing a few hours of rest. When it becomes habitual, it can disrupt the body's natural rhythm and affect both physical and psychological well-being.
The Endless Race
Competition is another major enemy of peace and sleep.
Young people today are under enormous pressure to earn more, achieve more and establish themselves quickly. Social media intensifies this pressure by turning other people's achievements into a constant measure of one's own life.
Someone has secured a prestigious job. Someone else has started a successful business. Another is travelling, buying a house or apparently enjoying a perfect relationship. The young mind can easily begin to feel that everyone is moving forward except oneself.
This creates a race with no finish line.
Even after the day's responsibilities are over, the mind continues working. It replays failures, worries about tomorrow, calculates what others have achieved and questions whether one is falling behind. The body may be in bed, but the mind remains wide awake.
When the Heart Keeps Talking
Broken relationships add another layer to the problem.
A failed friendship, heartbreak, family conflict or loneliness can occupy the mind long after the lights have been switched off. Questions remain unanswered. Memories return. Conversations are replayed. Things left unsaid become louder in the silence of the night.
Stress and anxiety can disturb sleep, while inadequate sleep can make emotional regulation and coping with stress more difficult. Thus emerges a vicious cycle: mental unrest disrupts sleep, and sleep deprivation deepens mental unrest.
Earlier generations had fewer technological distractions. Limited communication sometimes created inconvenience, but it also created boundaries. Today, the world enters the bedroom through a smartphone.
Rest Is Not Laziness
The growing problem of youth sleep deprivation cannot be solved simply by telling young people to “sleep early”. It requires a wider conversation about how we live, what we value and what kind of future we want.
Families should encourage healthy routines, meaningful conversations and screen-free evenings rather than allowing smartphones to become the primary companions of young people at night. Schools and colleges must recognise that exhausted students cannot learn effectively simply by being subjected to greater academic pressure. Workplaces, too, should understand that sustained productivity requires adequate rest.
Most importantly, society must redefine success.
Success cannot mean only a bigger salary, a better job, more followers or a more impressive lifestyle. True success also means good health, peaceful sleep, meaningful relationships, emotional balance, family, contentment and inner peace.
Kashmir's youth are ambitious, talented and eager to embrace the modern world. They should not have to choose between ambition and well-being.
The smartphone can wait. The competition can wait. Even tomorrow can wait for a few hours.
Sleep is not time lost. It is life restored.

Email:-----------------------amaarmir77@gmail.com