Is There a Correct Time to Sleep?
Written by clive on 3:59 AMIn 1757 Benjamin Franklin gave us the epigram "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." It would be more accurate to say "Consistently to bed and consistently to rise..." As long as you fulfill your sleep requirement without interruption, it doesn't really matter what time you go to bed or get up. But most of us have to get to work on a daytime schedule. Late-morning arrivals at the office aren't exactly appreciated - even if you're more fully rested and alert when you get there.
"Grandmother" psychology tells us that sleep before midnight is best, and that one hour of sleep before midnight is equal to two hours of sleep after midnight. Again, it ain't necessarily so. While the first few hours of sleep are most restful in terms of deep (delta) sleep and the secretion of the growth hormone, it doesn't matter what the time on the clock is when such sleep occurs. Duration of sleep and regularity are what count.
One more point. You don't wake up "bright eyed and bushy tailed". You gradually become more and more alert, reaching a high point in the late morning and again in the early evening. So if you have to be at your very best first thing in the morning every day, you'd better plan on getting up a little earlier, having already enjoyed a sleep of optimal length.
Early-morning radio and television presenters must get to bed around 9pm and wake up at 5am for an 8am broadcast if they want to be close to optimally alert. Should they maintain that sleep-wake schedule at the weekends when they're not working? You bet. If they stay up Friday and Saturday nights to socialize and sleep in on Saturday and Sunday mornings, they'll have Sunday-night insomnia for sure. It's a hard life, but regularity is essential to success.
MIRACLE SLEEP CURE, JAMES B. MAAS
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