In the early afternoon, I often catch myself listlessly staring into the computer screen. I have things to do, but I can’t concentrate. I try writing the same sentence five times and delete it six. During one of these afternoon torpors, I came upon a word: acedia. It seemed to perfectly define my mid-afternoon weariness. I discovered this originally Greek word was widely used by medieval Christian monks to describe a sense of indolence, a mood of lethargy, a feeling of being completely unconcerned about their duties and purpose in the world. Christian mystics who lived in the Egyptian deserts during the 3rd century AD often complained about being haunted by the “noon-day demon”.
Related: Disrupted sleep patterns can lead to ‘deviant behaviour’, research suggests
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