Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurana recently opened up about something which got us thinking. Posting an Instagram story about how he feels guilty about being a night owl, Ayushmann wrote: “Night workout done! I am such a night person. God save me please…because I feel guilty about it.”
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Given the fact that most of us have grown up in a world where waking up and sleeping early are considered major virtues, this struck a chord with us. After all, we’ve all heard the “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” rhyme. So, we often feel like we’re wasting our time if we don’t stick to the said schedule.
Many of us prefer to stay up at night. Why not make the most of it like Ayushmann?
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A lot of us like to stay up at night because it gives us a break from the noise and in some cases, the people we have to constantly interact with throughout the day. There’s something incredibly peaceful about nights. For many creatives, this undisturbed time is when the best ideas come to mind. So, why fight it, unless it is a symptom of a health issue?
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It makes more sense to build a schedule around our body clock than to force our body to conform to a socially-constructed schedule that doesn’t suit us. What is the point of tossing and turning from midnight to 3 a.m. every day, when we know we won’t fall asleep? It will only make us lose more sleep on losing sleep!
One might as well plan things to do at that time. Activities like reading, skincare, doing the laundry, writing in a journal, or organising a messy drawer are all activities one can get done. Unlike watching TV, working out, or scrolling through Instagram, these activities don’t make one less sleepy. In the end, not only does this make us feel less guilty about “wasting time” but it actually reduces our workload for the next day.
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Did you know that the modern circadian cycle humans have now, used to be different before the industrial revolution?
In Downton Abbey, which is set in the 1910s, Maggie Smith asks, “What’s a weekend?” which, apart from being proof of privileged people’s ignorance about workdays, was an example of how modern-day working cycles have created constructs of when one should rest or work. Today, we have a sleep schedule which is built around our work hours.
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Before the industrial revolution, which happened from 1760 onwards, people slept multiple times a day, resting in phases we now describe as naps. But, with the prevalence of electricity and bright indoor lighting, we pushed our bedtime to later hours.
This changed the way we slept.
That’s not the only interesting tidbit about sleeping patterns. Did you know that infant humans and many mammals are traditionally polyphasic sleepers, meaning they sleep many times a day for shorter periods? In fact, in places like West Bengal and Spain, afternoon siestas are so popular that a lot of shops are closed in the afternoons and reopened in the evenings. Today, we don’t live like that. Is it because it is unhealthy, or because our collective social schedule doesn’t allow it?
While there isn’t enough evidence to suggest whether the multiple nap system is healthy or not, organisations like NASA, the U.S. Military, the Italian Air Force, and Canadian Marine pilots have directives about the optimum ways to nap, should they be unable to sleep for eight hours at a stretch. There has also been research done to indicate that eight hours of continuous sleep is not necessary.
However, many still suggest that it’s unhealthy to not get continuous, deep sleep for 6-8 hours.
Most medical practitioners suggest that a continuous eight-hour sleep cycle is essential for health and well-being, as the body needs to fall into a deep REM sleep to recharge. Interrupted, light sleep is not good for the body. Some also say that soaking in the rays of the early morning sun helps a person wake up, and sleeping early is the only way to do this correctly.
Image credit: Red Chillies Entertainment, Dharma Productions
The pressure to be perfectly fit and healthy shouldn’t take a toll on one’s mental health.
If a person cannot do all of these things recommended for a healthy lifestyle, there tends to be a lot of guilt. “Why did I consume more than 1200 calories?”, “Why am I unable to sleep?” or “Why am I not doing enough?” can be common questions.
Putting such pressure on oneself is not conducive to getting good results. So, it’s best to take it one step at a time. If one cannot sleep for 8 hours, starting from 10 p.m. and waking up at 5 a.m., they can try to rest and recharge in whatever way is feasible for them. After all, not all of our schedules permit us to have a perfectly healthy lifestyle all the time. Instead of dwelling on the things we are supposedly doing wrong, we can start small and correct whatever little things we can. For example, if we can’t sleep on time, perhaps trying to sleep for the designated 6 to 8 hours can be one thing. Something is better than nothing, and the pressure to be perfect doesn’t help with our mental health. Our subsequent peace of mind will go a long way in terms of aiding our well-being.
Lead image credit: Bhansali Productions, Eros International, Rising Sun Films
