Sleep Science and the Limits of Creaturely Life: On Bonhoeffer and a Theology of Bodily Responsibility.

The article examines the theological significance of sleep by integrating Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s concept of creaturely limits with contemporary sleep science as presented by Matthew Walker in *Why We Sleep* (2017). It argues that sleep reveals human embodiment and finitude, situating humans within the natural world and highlighting responsibilities to God, self, others, and creation. Chronic sleep deprivation in modern society exemplifies a rejection of these creaturely limits, with measurable cognitive, physical, and social harms that challenge Christian ethics to consider sleep as both a bodily good and a relational responsibility. Bonhoeffer’s theological anthropology frames bodily life as an end in itself, grounded in God, which entails ethical duties to maintain healthful sleep not only for oneself but also in relation to others and the Creator. The article concludes that a Christian theology of sleep must balance the affirmation of bodily limits with recognition of social inequities and the possibility of sacrificial sleep loss for higher goods, thereby enriching ethical reflection on human flourishing and embodied existence.