It is 11 in the morning. I wander around the dining hall thinking of nothing specific when I stumble upon the broom. I put the broom in its place and stand there for an extra second. Mum comes out of the kitchen, “you know what, you’re still awake, better attend the bed. Have you ever done something better than sleeping?” That’s when it strikes me, “why can we sleep at all?”. So I do what I do best, I sit down by my desktop and search.
We spend one-third of our lives sleeping.
Scientists still don’t know what exactly sleep is, they only describe the method. They call it tired nature’s sweet energy restorer. Yes! Time spent sleeping is not time wasted. It is used effectively in rejuvenating the body.
What happens when we sleep? To start with the brain wave ripples, broaden, they relax. The muscles relax as a consequence. The temperature of the body, vital sign, and heartbeat decrease. The senses fade. Consciousness is lost.
Why do we sleep at night? Behavioural scientists and psychologists have found out that our ancestors hunted in the light of the day. they used night time to sleep and restore their energy for the next day’s work and play. We evolved this practice as our biological time i.e. the day and night cycle. As a result, now our brain has adapted to this practice as a function. No matter what work we do, we will feel drowsy at night
Why then do we go against this innate characteristic of the body? It is a prevalent trend in our city these days. We move around, hanging out with friends, eating street food, attending lavish weddings till the wee hours of the morning.
Hyderabad has been the land of royal nizams and nawabs, charming traditions, language, attire, and cuisine. But extravagant weddings organized for social recognition that goes long into the night have paved the way to a lamenting problem.
It is our responsibility to feed our body with the right food at the right time and give it enough rest. We assume that the hours at night after office or after the kids are off to sleep is the only time we can spend with ourselves doing ‘our thing’. This belief is utterly wrong.
We have forgotten the golden hours of the morning. The chirping of birds, the rising sun, the cool air are the conduits of positive energy that we require daily. We can spend at least an hour with ourselves doing something that gives inner peace like reading a book or writing or singing or cooking, blocking all the news and notifications of the outer world in the morning. This will definitely increase our productivity for the day because the mind would have had its rest and rejuvenation.
I am sure within every week approximately this easy technique of paying your ‘me time’ within the morning will encourage you to sleep at the proper time, complete your sleep cycle and wake up early in the morning.