Cycles
While working on the empirical calibration of the sundial I am building, I thought upon the cycles of the sun, moon and earth, and how unrelenting they are. Little do they care that their imperfections -- the elliptical orbit of the earth about the sun and the wobble of the earth about its polar axis -- cause solar time to drift slightly throughout the year. Yet, they are careful to repeat their imperfections in a never ending cycle.
These cycles and their variations play a huge role on all living things. And, of course, leave it to man to try to "improve" upon them with, say, daylight savings time.
Indeed, sleep is one of the many things affected daily by the rotation of the earth. Listen to the birds and you will hear them stop singing and go to roost at the very instant the sun sets behind horizon and begin anew when the sun rises in the morning. These same birds migrate spring and fall as the daylight increases and decreases.
Man has a nature sleep cycle also somewhat like the birds with extended periods of wakefulness during the daylight hours and sleepfulness in the night hours. But our natural cycle is a little more complicated than that of birds, with a short period of wakefulness in the nightime and a similar short period of sleepfulness during the daytime. The pattern goes something like this:
Traces of this natural human sleep cycle can be found in literature written and art produced before the industrial revolution, and in the siesta still taken in many Latin countries. (The grocery stores and many shops in Italy still close from 2:00 until 4:00.) Folks living in the more industrialised nations (like ours) who follow their urges to abide by this natural cycle are sent to a medical specialist for treatment of a "sleep disorder"!
One summer while in college I worked in a factory for a man who did followed this natural cycle. At 1:00 in the afternoon he would unfold the cot he kept in his office, close the door, turn out the lights, unplug the telephone, and sleep for an hour. Everyone knew not to knock on his door or call Doc Hildebrandt during that hour. Being the factory manager and having a private office, of course, made day sleep feasable for him, unlike us "grunts" on the factory floor. A well liked man who never gave anyone reason to doubt him, he let it be known that he was under doctor's orders to do so.
Now that I'm not burdened by employment and its attendant schedule, I personally like living by the natural sleep-wake cycle quite a lot. That waking hour at night is a wonderfully productive time for thinking and writing. And, of course, that afternoon nap is to die for.
These cycles and their variations play a huge role on all living things. And, of course, leave it to man to try to "improve" upon them with, say, daylight savings time.
Indeed, sleep is one of the many things affected daily by the rotation of the earth. Listen to the birds and you will hear them stop singing and go to roost at the very instant the sun sets behind horizon and begin anew when the sun rises in the morning. These same birds migrate spring and fall as the daylight increases and decreases.
Man has a nature sleep cycle also somewhat like the birds with extended periods of wakefulness during the daylight hours and sleepfulness in the night hours. But our natural cycle is a little more complicated than that of birds, with a short period of wakefulness in the nightime and a similar short period of sleepfulness during the daytime. The pattern goes something like this:
Unfortunately, this natural sleep cycle just didn't get the job done with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and man subsequently "fixed" the problem by changing a fundamental cycle of nature that has been with us for millions of years.First Sleep - 6 hours (beginning at dusk) Night Wake - 1 hour Second Sleep - 5 hours First Wake - 6 hours (beginning at dawn) Day Sleep - 1 hour Second Wake - 5 hours
Traces of this natural human sleep cycle can be found in literature written and art produced before the industrial revolution, and in the siesta still taken in many Latin countries. (The grocery stores and many shops in Italy still close from 2:00 until 4:00.) Folks living in the more industrialised nations (like ours) who follow their urges to abide by this natural cycle are sent to a medical specialist for treatment of a "sleep disorder"!
One summer while in college I worked in a factory for a man who did followed this natural cycle. At 1:00 in the afternoon he would unfold the cot he kept in his office, close the door, turn out the lights, unplug the telephone, and sleep for an hour. Everyone knew not to knock on his door or call Doc Hildebrandt during that hour. Being the factory manager and having a private office, of course, made day sleep feasable for him, unlike us "grunts" on the factory floor. A well liked man who never gave anyone reason to doubt him, he let it be known that he was under doctor's orders to do so.
Now that I'm not burdened by employment and its attendant schedule, I personally like living by the natural sleep-wake cycle quite a lot. That waking hour at night is a wonderfully productive time for thinking and writing. And, of course, that afternoon nap is to die for.
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