Let ISIS Brides Come Home? | How the Swiss Avoid Skeptism

A growing number of companies want to solve sleep problems once and for all with electrostimulation devices.

You stare at the ceiling, counting the same small cracks over and over. After tossing and turning, you try rolling onto your back, spreading your legs in a starfish pose, throwing the blankets off and pulling the blankets back on. You flip your pillow, hoping that somehow the coolness of the other side will magically fill you with drowsiness. But nothing happens, and you lie awake for hours.

Insomniacs have tried meditation apps, hypnosis and sleeping pills, but a new method of sleep therapy is on the rise. You probably haven’t tried it, and you may have not even heard of it. For decades, medical practitioners have prescribed electrostimulation devices, referred to as “electroceuticals” in the industry (as opposed to pharmaceuticals) for pain management. Now, an increasing number of companies are developing devices using that technology to cure insomnia, offering an approach that allows users to avoid or minimize sleeping pills.

Thus far, there is limited acceptance of this new form of sleep therapy by the mainstream medical community. That’s partly because there has been very little peer-reviewed research yet that confirms the benefits of any type of electrostimulation specifically for sleep quality — though there is enough research that shows this technology works for pain relief. But there is strong empirical evidence linking chronic pain to poor sleep. Experts say the medical community is also notoriously slow to accept out-of-the-box fixes. And most of the new devices that are emerging — all in the past decade — have been approved by the FDA for use.

The stories of Hoda Muthana and Shamima Begum test the limits of defecting from ISIS.

In many ways, their stories started so differently.

Hoda Muthana was an Alabama coed and a recent graduate of Hoover High, a school once the subject of an MTV reality show about a high-school-football-obsessed town. When Muthana made the decision that would drastically change her life, she did so alone, lying to her parents while catching a bus to Atlanta and a flight to Turkey in the fall of 2014.

Shamima Begum was a British schoolgirl of Bangladeshi descent, who, with two other East London classmates, put together a packing list that seemed ordinary for any sleepover — makeup, bras, boots and an epilator — arriving in Turkey just three months after Muthana.

The two young students both crossed the Turkish border into Syria and joined ISIS. And so while their journeys began continents apart, their tales now have them intertwined: both exiled into remote Syrian camps, carrying young children and begging their nations to take them back, with the American hoping she avoids the fate of the Brit. “Growing up … I wanted to do journalism and become one of the first Muslim women anchors, believe it or not,” Muthana tells OZY in an exclusive interview. She also described herself as having political ambitions, obsessing over makeup and enjoying rap, hip-hop, country music and smooth jazz before becoming radicalized amid family strife.

Switzerland’s quirky political system gives every citizen the chance to put things to a vote.

This month, Swiss voters were asked whether they support a proposal to limit urban sprawl and promote environmentally sustainable housing — the first of several times they’ll be called to the polls this year in a nationwide ballot.

Switzerland has an astonishing number of referendums compared to other nations: Any Swiss citizen who gathers 50,000 signatures in 100 days can force a referendum about any law passed by Parliament, while 100,000 signatures can kick-start an initiative to create a law. In fact, the Alpine nation holds the highest number of referendums and initiative votes worldwide: Since direct democracy was embedded in its constitution in 1848, voters have been called upon 309 times to decide on 625 questions, and that’s just on the federal level. Voters are asked their opinions on issues of state and local importance as well.

While many other countries across the world are seeing destabilizing populist movements negatively impact people’s trust in governance, the land of folk hero William Tell hasn’t seen such a shake-up — which may be helping the Swiss appreciate their form of popular representation and governance. In fact, a recent report found that Swiss citizens' trust in government has risen 17 percent since 2007, while other once-trustworthy countries have seen their numbers slip.