Redman & K-Solo, It's Like That
DISCLAIMER:
I am sharing my recent learnings and experiences. In no way am I proposing how much you or anyone else should or should not sleep and I accept no responsibility for what you choose to do with your sleep patterns. These are the specific benefits I have experienced since changing my own sleeping habits recently.
Up until two weeks ago if I had any less than 8 hours sleep I'd usually stumble around in a disorientated stupor not feeling fully human till mid-morning. Even when I do get 8 hours sleep I often feel lethargic, any more and I'd feel worse.
In the chapter on Sleep & Dreams in Seth Speaks it is suggested that we would function better if our sleep was split into two periods such as 6 + 2, 5 + 3 or even 3 + 3 instead of one long block of 6-8 hours. The book also suggests that it's necessary to give yourself suggestions to recuperate fully.
I am a nocturnal creature anyway so I decided to give it a crack. That magical night I went to bed at 3:45am and woke up at 7:30am. Initially I felt a little groggy but then my energy quickly lifted I felt full of energy until the afternoon. After experimenting with this for the past few weeks I have I settled into a rhythm of sleeping around 5 hours at night and having a short siesta of about 90 minutes in the late afternoon/early evening.
I have noticed several benefits so far:
1. High energy: Instead of feeling lethargic for the first few hours of my day I hit the ground running. The transition from asleep to fully awake is very fast. As a result I'm much more productive right away and maintain a high energy level throughout the day.
2. Graveyard Shift: Instead of trying to go to bed at 10 to be an early-riser I now embrace my Dracula ways. I work till late without feeling like I should be sleeping. And I get quiet time.
3. Less sleep: I function best on six and a half hours sleep now, not 8.
4. Inner balance: I am more in harmony with my body's natural rhythms.
5. Best of both worlds: I can go to bed late and still get up early.
6. Better eating habits: because I sleep less I don't wake up starving hungry. As a result I find I am eating several light meals throughout the day instead of 2-3 large meals.
7. Conscious/unconscious connection: I have a stronger connection to my unconscious processes (dreams, intuition, creative ideas etc).
8. Psychology: My mind is clearer and I am happier.
9. Better quality sleep: I fall asleep quicker, sleep more deeply and wake up without an alarm clock.
10. More time: an extra 90 minutes per day to work my magic
90 minutes per day x 365 = 32 850 minutes = 547.5 hours = 23 days per year = 3 wks 2 days
(If the average working day is 8 hours that's the equivalent of an extra 68 days of work)
The Western habit of sleeping through the night in one long block seems to have come about first and foremost because it was safer. The fact is before the Industrial Revolution and before towns and cities were so well-lit it was common for sleep to be split into two periods. I may elaborate on this in a future post.
Perhaps some of the people who suffer from insomnia do so because they're natural rhythm doesn't fit into the prescribed 8-hour pattern.
"Let the night teach us what we are, and the day what we should be."
Thomas Tryon
Recommended Reading
Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul by Jane Roberts
At Day's Close: A History of Night Time by Roger A Ekirch
The Ultimate Guide to Waking Up Early by Gordon Sharp
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