A Christian monastic group or sect from early church history that practiced sleeplessness or continuous worship without rest.
From Greek 'a-' (without) and 'koimetai' (sleep), referring to monks who attempted perpetual wakefulness. The term emerged from fourth-century Eastern Christian monasticism.
The Acoemetae monks literally tried to never sleep, rotating shifts so someone was always praying—it didn't go well; modern sleep science shows this was basically a medieval torture experiment disguised as piety.
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