Welcome back to the show.
Black Americans already have a lot to be tired of in 2022.
But as it turns out, they're also really tired of,
well, being tired.
Here's Mike Brown with more.
It's 2022, and I feel like I haven't gotten any sleep.
Between the pandemic, and finding out I'm
not the father of Rihanna's baby--
oh, damn it-- I can't seem to catch any Z's.
So I took to the streets of Harlem
to find out if I'm the only Black person
not getting enough rest.
Are you getting enough sleep?
Hell, no.
I sleep on average maybe four to six hours a night.
Maybe about four to five.
I can't sleep more than five hours at a time.
I just sort of go until I'm exhausted.
So I sort of sleep when I fall apart.
And it's no wonder we can't sleep, because when we do,
this shit happens.
Outrage at Yale University.
A Black graduate student, after she fell asleep
in a common room of her dorm, and then the police
were called.
How many hours of sleep would you get if you didn't
have to worry about racism?
Oh, 12.
Maybe I will sleep eight if I didn't have to worry
about racism every day.
You know, my mind wouldn't be racing so much.
Racism taking 50% at a good sleep time.
It is!
24.
24 hours.
A good hibernation period, yeah.
But if you've been paying attention
to Black History outside of February,
it's no surprise that we're tired.
Black people, unfortunately, are not getting enough rest.
This is Dr. Reba Peoples, psychiatrist and author
of "The Smart Wellness Workbook Cultural Wisdom Meets Modern
Brain Science", where she provides
sleeping tools to combat something
she calls the sleep gap.
Sleep gap.
That's not a clothing store for pajamas, is it?
It is not.
So, the ideal amount of sleep is about
seven to nine hours nightly.
But Black people are five times more likely to have less
than the ideal amount of sleep.
What's wrong with just being a little tired?
People who are sleep deprived are
more likely to have diabetes, strokes or heart attacks,
cancer, and people who don't sleep tend
to have a shortened lifespan.
Not the police, not COVID, not even the shade room
comment section, but not getting enough rest is killing us?
Not getting enough rest is killing us.
Screw vitamins and plant based diets, the only thing that's
going to save us is sleep.
Luckily, there are two activists who are taking
matters into their own hands.
Navild Acosta and Fannie Sosa, creators of the art
installation, Black Power Naps.
And you can tell they're artists because, damn, that background.
I've got to get one that matches.
A lot of why we're doing Black Power Naps
is to counteract this overall dominant culture
where we must produce in order to be valued in society.
And resting, for Black people, is one of the ways
that we disrupt the status quo.
Yes!
Like our auntie Maxine taught us,
rest is how we reclaim our time.
It's also how we replenish ourselves
so we can fight the big fight of racism, sexism, homophobia,
transphobia, the midterms, possible Trump
2024, and rappers pushing NFTs.
Damn, we're going to need a lot of rest.
Is there a way to get rest wrong?
Resting is not just sleeping.
Someone will take a bath, and relax with some candles.
Someone else will want to do some sports,
and actually move their body in a pleasurable way.
A lot of these activities, they are
about repair or rejuvenation.
And so in a way, rest has to do with allowing
oneself to not be productive.
Wow.
Resting is resistance.
Resting is how we form resilience.
I think taking naps, getting enough rest,
this is how I'm part of the revolution.
Other organizations, like the Nap Ministry and Rest
For Resistance are bringing the rest
revolution to the forefront.
But the naps aren't going to take themselves,
so I'm taking the rest-istance back to the streets of Harlem.
What if I told you naps were a form of resistance?
I would say that you're crazy, but also brilliant.
So I gave them what they needed
to be part of the resistance.
That's a sleep mask right there, so you
could get your Z's but make sure that they
know your eyes to open.
Exactly.
Essential oils.
Lavender.
We give you these so you can get your Zs.
Oh, this is tea?
Chamomile.
I will put my liquor in that, thank you.
And then we focus on preparing the mind.
Silk sheets.
Oh, that's nice.
OK.
President Michelle Obama.
That will make me relax.
Reparations.
Absolutely.
Sleep like a baby.
A high credit score.
Oh, I'm rested.
But no resistance is complete without catchy chants.
I have a dream.
Because I'm sleeping.
What do we want?
Naps.
When do we want them?
Now.
Who sheets?
Our sheets.
Yes.
I can feel change coming.
What about you Dr. Peoples?
It goes back to that by Audre Lorde when she talks about
caring for herself not being self-indulgence
but really self-preservation.
When you do take that time to reclaim rest,
then you're better in a position to be able to fight,
to dismantle some of those systems and structures that
really stand in the way of lives that are meaningful,
purposeful, and healthy.
Mike, are you there?
I'm sorry, I wasn't--
I was a part of the revolution.
We'll be right back.