I'm sure everybody ponders about life and death sometimes, but I don't think it's common to think about it every night. Perhaps as we age, or as our health declines, the subject comes up more often as death is merely the natural consequence of life and we cannot pretend it won't happen to us when the signs of our deteriorating bodies are all too clear.
However, I do not believe (mentally?) healthy people below a certain age ponder their mortality every single night. I've heard people say they're reminded of their mortality more when they get children who depend on them, but even then I don't think it's a daily occurrence for them.
We worry about what we think is likely to happen to us, mostly in the short term. For many, if not most, people alive, death is not something we expect to see around the corner just yet. Perhaps some people are more prone to think in the (very) long term and there's definitely a philosophical component to these things. Sadly, there are also many that go through depressive episodes who will also often turn their attention to their deaths. However, from what I've seen, I think you're part of the minority.
> However, I do not believe (mentally?) healthy people below a certain age ponder their mortality every single night.
Then you are wrong, depending on how you define healthy and what age you're thinking about. Both myself and a close friend used to ponder our own mortalities frequently as adolescents. I still do ponder my lack of existence after death, though not as often. The reason is mostly that I have less free time on my hands because I have to work. Not a tradeoff I'm happy with.
That was two decades ago and neither of us would be considered (abnormally?) unhealthy, either mentally or physically. Also worth noting we met a decade ago, so neither of us spurred the other.
I'm sure everybody ponders about life and death sometimes, but I don't think it's common to think about it every night. Perhaps as we age, or as our health declines, the subject comes up more often as death is merely the natural consequence of life and we cannot pretend it won't happen to us when the signs of our deteriorating bodies are all too clear.
However, I do not believe (mentally?) healthy people below a certain age ponder their mortality every single night. I've heard people say they're reminded of their mortality more when they get children who depend on them, but even then I don't think it's a daily occurrence for them.
We worry about what we think is likely to happen to us, mostly in the short term. For many, if not most, people alive, death is not something we expect to see around the corner just yet. Perhaps some people are more prone to think in the (very) long term and there's definitely a philosophical component to these things. Sadly, there are also many that go through depressive episodes who will also often turn their attention to their deaths. However, from what I've seen, I think you're part of the minority.