Scientific studies on sleep by human beings, covering the time taken and quality for its health benefits and other outcomes, have been carried out by research teams in many institutions across the world resulting in publications revealing some interesting features. The Kannada idiom that seniors often quote namely ‘Chinthe illadavanige santheyallu nidde’ (which translates to ‘one who doesn’t worry slips into sleep even amidst noisy crowd’) has a word of message for persons bugged by insomnia, experiencing difficulty in both falling and staying asleep even under conditions favourable to sleep, and suffering from fatigues, low energy, inability to concentrate, mood disturbances and decreased performance in work of various natures including physical effort.

Modern life, particularly in urban spaces, is marked by people forced to stand in queue, once they are outside their dwellings, awaiting their turn to board a bus or a train, get their automobiles fuelled, obtain admission forms in schools, get attention at the tables of babus in their offices, consult specialist doctors, pay bills at the counters of busy departmental stores, withdraw cash in banks and so on, not to forget performing last rites of kin at crematoria. In short, standing is an act that all able-bodied citizens cannot escape at one point of time or the other in daily life, yet doesn’t seem to have been bestowed studies by research teams to the extent that sleep has.

Of the many landmark stages of life, the moment a toddler stands on reaching the tender age of nine months, parents get into celebration mode, even sharing their excitement with relatives living far away from their homes. It takes only a few years, when the toddler crosses teenage stage that parents eagerly look forward to the day when the full-grown adult reaches the stage of standing on his (or her) own feet. There are other aspects of standing (as an act) that researchers have studied.

While energy gets drained in the body and has to be replenished in order to endure as a living entity and also be able to be active, including the act of standing, an adult human being needs 1,200 calories in 24 hours even without any activity as determined by scientists. A new study published recently in a science journal suggests spending more time standing to increase energy expenditure and combat negative health effects of sedentary lifestyle. Researchers have inferred that we burn 45 kilo calories more per six-hour period while standing compared to lying or sitting. More importantly, they have opined that by making small changes in lifestyle, such as spending more time standing, risk of experiencing diseases such as diabetes is reduced.

In this backdrop, unless one is constrained by limitation of time, one has no cause to be rattled while forced to be standing in queues. Also cultivating the culture of queuing amounts to be disciplined without creating disorderly scene in public domain. The saying “They also serve who only stand and wait” represents a spiritual aspect of standing.