I’ve always wondered this, espeically over summer break or for those who work later but why is going to bed late bad for you if you still get the perfect amount of sleep?
For example, last night I wen’t to bed at like 1:30 AM and woke up at 10:30 am, which is 9 hours? So if I’m getting required sleep, how is it bad for me?
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Not really an ELI5 but here are some useful terms.
Circadian rhythm and REM cycle seems relevant to what you want to know. Idk how scientifically true it is though.
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My vague understanding of the circadian rhythm is basically when your mind sees a level of darkness and lightness, it makes some of your organs work harder or chill depending on the brightness.
Lots of light would typically make you more alert.
Lots of darkness would typically make you sleep.
If you sleep in the morning, your organs can’t relax properly because it’s bright. Also at night, your organs can’t relax properly because you are presumably awake.
So that could potentially contribute to bad health since your organs doesn’t have the ‘optimal’ environment to rest.
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REM cycle affects how deep you sleep. Roughly, the deeper/longer you sleep, the less work your body does and the more your body can fight viruses and bad things.
Statistics seems to suggest that REM cycle only occurs at night at 8pm-12am. So if you don’t sleep then, you might not easily enter deep REM cycle. But it seems to be just an unproven guess.
So if you don’t sleep at the optimal time, your body might become weaker.
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The above theories may not apply to night owls though. There are people out there who have a natural nocturnal cycle, meaning they sleep in the morning and wake up at night and things seem to be working out for them.
your body works on a clock in tune with the sun cycle. at certain times of day your body does certain things, it does not run like a machine and do the same thing all day. at certain times the janitorial crew comes in and cleans the brain and at another time the crew comes in a cleans and repairs something else. it cannot do a proper job if you are out partying or playing on your phone. the most important thing you can do for your health is watch the sun come up every morning and stick as close to the sun cycle as possible.
if you want to go really far down the rabbit hole, then follow Dr. Jack Kruse. he’s a brain surgeon and as brilliant as a person can be.
1. Cycadian rhythms are most effective when aligned with natural light (specifically low angle UV light that wakes you up and outs you to sleep due tovevolution)
2. It’s more about having the same sleep schedule so one or two late nights then swapping back to regular time is bad for your body.
I’ve heard from an anthropological perspective that it can be beneficial for communities to have both “day” and “night” people so that there is always someone on guard. As others have said, it’s not about when you get the rest it’s that you get the right amount.
Remember that by and large, our ability to sleep during the day is greatly aided by technology like AC. Until recently in our history, sleeping through the day wasn’t really an option. So, with some variation, we are generally “built” to be daytime animals. To wake up when the lights go on and go to bed when the moon becomes our nightlight.
I’m a night owl, and my schedule permits it. But when we go camping?? It’s hard to sleep past 8 when the sun is out and it’s starting to get hotter. When the bustle of other campers starts to disturb me.
Also, it’s a lot better to get outside for hobbies and yard work when it’s cooler in the AM. Getting out and being active goes a long way towards good health. Tennis is way more fun at 9AM than it is at 3PM. Being a night owl means you will generally get less exercise and less time out in the healthy sun.
I can only tell you from my experience that it’s hard to keep this schedule when you go places and do things with other people. Sleeping in until 11 every Saturday closes off a lot of options for things to get out and do. And you don’t want to be the guy who’s sleep deprived for the entire cruise, tournament, camping trip, your son’s tee-ball games, and so on… I have regrets.
I watched this dudes masterclass, and honestly it’s one of the best things I have ever watched. I wondered the same, and he answers that, and way more…
The myth is that “too much sleep” is bad for you, but it could be quite the contrary. It really depends on you, how you feel, your age, and lifestyle. Shoot, he even mentions LeBron James sleeps 13 hours a day, and he’s in exceptional shape.
https://www.masterclass.com/classes/matthew-walker-teaches-the-science-of-better-sleep
Some info on why you would feel “off” when saying up too late or sleeping too early:
He could probably speak better on this, but according to a lot of studies done on sleep, we have a circadian rhythm that is believed to be engraved in our DNA, based on our ancestry. This explains why some of us tend to be night owls vs those who are early larkers. The studies suggest to villager days where some needed to stay up late to watch over the tribe at night, and some would wake up early. This kept the tribe vulnerable to a bare minimum. He also breaks down the brain chemistry involved, which suggests we naturally gravitate to certain bedtimes and wake up times. If we stretch outside of those tendencies, we are outside of our natural circadian rhythm, which is why we get thrown off. He touches on how modern society has evolved without taking into account these human tendencies, and suggests workplaces don’t (but should) accommodate these natural obstacles (such as adaptive work schedules to a person’s circadian rhythm)
There’s a whole section on why we are tired after naps, and best practices towards those too.
Again, he better describes that, but hopefully this gives you an idea.
Retired in my 60s I go to bed when I’m tired and wake up when I’m rested. My sleep fell into a cycle where it seems to shift an hour or two a day and I have a week or two of day cycle and a week or two of night cycle, and I’ve been perfectly happy with that. The only thing that throws me off is when someone wants to make plans with me a month or two in advance, because luck always puts it dead in the middle of my sleep. :/
It’s not if it’s your normal schedule. Iv been on a going to bed at 5am schedule since 1999.
Physician here… our bodies are amazingly adaptable and resilient – especially if you’re young which I assume you are. Even if all of the things people posted are true (and most of them are), one or two late nights will have absolutely no impact on your overall health. It’s repeated insults that cause long term health effects. If you want to stay up late on occasion over summer break, your health shouldn’t be the reason you don’t.
ELI5 answer: Basically your brain likes patterns and when you disrupt that pattern it doesn’t know what to do and so, for a time, it loses track of what it’s supposed to do until you get it back on track or it finally adapts to the new schedule. Either way though keeping the pattern is key.
It’s all about doing things on a schedule. Your body gets used to certain timings and will be thrown off if you’re not consistent with it. The top guy saying you have a natural cycle is right, but I’ve also heard you can change that schedule if you do the transition right.
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