in Healthcare Professionals Perspective 1,246 Words

The Science of ‘Early to Bed’

by Dianne Trussell, BSc Hons, Goonellabah, NSW, Australia

Question:

Do you find it difficult committing to a routine, quitting addictions, having enough energy, maintaining a positive attitude, staying emotionally stable, managing your moods, harmonizing with other people, remembering things, learning how to do new stuff, and/or changing behaviour when you realise that how you’ve been isn’t working?

Answer:

Go to bed early! It can change your life.

There is an abundance of scientific research to support this conclusion, but it’s not often put together in a way that makes sense to us. And certainly not presented in a way that makes enough sense for us to actually make the choice to make the change. I offer this short summary, to perhaps help address this deficiency. So let’s get into our heads….. literally. 

The hippocampus is the part of your brain that takes all the things you have thought, felt, done and experienced in your day, and goes off to find a quiet, unstressed space while you sleep from 9 pm until midnight, to sort it all out for you. As it sorts it out, it connects it with everything else you have thought, felt, done and experienced in the past. To succeed, it has to talk to the cortex – the thinking, understanding, associating, sensing part of your brain that ‘knows where you’re at’ and how it all hangs together.

The hippocampus has to talk to the cortex because it has to know what’s ‘already in the files’ to be able to file the new stuff in the right places in the cortex. So the hippocampus and cortex have a kind of back-and-forth ‘email conversation’ throughout the night to get the ‘office work’ done. A different part of the office work is done during 2 types of sleep that we alternate between – dreaming (REM) and non-dreaming (SWS). And in each cycle of REM and SWS, the office work has progressed, and more stuff is transferred to the cortex all tidy and ready to go. Some parts of the cortex get the job done early in the night, and some parts later in the night. So you need the whole night to get the whole job completed – all parts of your cortex updated with the latest info in usable form.

There are some important things going on that impact this process. The ‘stress hormone’ – cortisol – can come along and make a mess of this lovely office filing project. Your brain’s natural cortisol level starts dropping when you go to sleep, and reaches the lowest level at midnight (hence that quiet, unstressed space during sleep). At midnight it starts to rise again. It’s maxed by the time you wake up. If you go to sleep much after 9 pm, you miss out on the ‘narrow window of opportunity’, the quiet time in which your brain can do the crucial first lot of work it has to, to get ready for the later work of the night and for tomorrow. Imagine yourself trying to do 3 hours’ work on the computer that has to be ‘in by midnight’ but you can’t even get into the office until 5 to 12!! You give up, or try to make up time while having to also do other time-sensitive jobs, and the stress and negative consequences build up.

Among those consequences of repeatedly going to sleep after 9 pm are a measurable (9%) shrinkage of the good ol’ buddy hippocampus, a degree of shrinkage associated with depression. Makes sense; even if you’re not depressed (yet), if the hippocampus is shrinking it’s not going to do its office job so well and as a result, you won’t cope very well with life. There are potentially also psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, Cushing’s syndrome from too much cortisol for too long, leading to things like high blood pressure, bone loss, disfiguring marks on the face, a hump back, and diabetes. So the consequences can be more than just ‘feeling tired’. And the whole equation gets tighter as you get older, like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!

The study found an optimum duration of sleep (7 to 9 hours) with both less and more being not so good although nowhere near as strong on effects as going to bed late. So for example sleeping from 8 pm till midnight or from 1 am till midday won’t benefit you as much as the optimal cycle, i.e. going to sleep between 9 and 10 pm, sleeping for 7 – 9 hours, and waking up between 5 and 6 am. The scientists didn’t study going to bed at 8 pm and getting up at 3 to 4 am, but based on how amazing I and many friends feel on this cycle, it would probably show an even more beneficial effect. It’s also important to note that the amount of sleep required may vary depending on the individual person’s life and what their body truly needs which will be influenced by how they have been living.

You might try to get off the hook by thinking: “Oh well, if I go to bed late, I’ll just sleep late and my brain will still get it all done,” Mega-wrong! The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try). Push it, and we become (and feel) less than we can be. Keep pushing it, and end up sick or crazy, or both.

Going to sleep by 9 pm is the way to go if you want to be a healthy, vibrant, well-balanced, and adaptable, on-the-ball human being, feeling great and making the most of life.

A few quotes from one of the easier-to-digest papers by Diana Kuperczko (Dept. of Neurology, University of Pecs, Hungary) et al in 2014 entitled: “Late bedtime is associated with decreased hippocampal volume in young, healthy subjects“, in ‘Sleep and Biological Rhythms’:

“These results suggest the importance of adequate sleep timing and especially bedtime in determining hippocampal volume.”

“…highlights the importance of adequate sleep timing and especially that of going to bed early in preventing hippocampal volume loss.”

“Delaying sleep onset may lead to dissociations between the endogenous circadian pacemaker, Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal hormone axis, and sleep stages, which may have adverse consequences.”

This is all pretty cool. But you know what’s even cooler? It’s that, although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen. And that listening and knowing does not require scientific education or years of research to access; anyone is capable of accessing it. This is what the Ageless Wisdom has always taught, and it’s called ‘ageless’ because it’s still true now. All one has to do is accept the possibility and be helped (if necessary) to learn how to listen and change choices. I learned how from Serge Benhayon. For me, the science presented above is the ‘retrospective’, because my body has already been benefitting for several years from listening and changing choices, way before tracking down and compiling this research.

 

Read more:

“Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Makes you Healthy, Wealthy and Wise” by Simon Asquith

 

 

 

 

 

1,261 thoughts on “The Science of ‘Early to Bed’”

  1. I am getting a lot of comments my way recently about going to bed ‘early’ (which is simply normal for me now). However the results in my health speak far more than any words can.

  2. ‘You might try to get off the hook by thinking: “Oh well, if I go to bed late, I’ll just sleep late and my brain will still get it all done,” Mega-wrong! The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try).’ In our organised, pragmatic and functional world where we are disconnected from ourselves and from nature we look for solutions, override the body’s wisdom and dismiss what it is telling us. Understanding that we are part of a much bigger whole and that our bodies are governed by cycles it would be a positive thing to start shifting our focus in recognition of this!

  3. My body knows without my head understanding the science of it that going to bed early every night is the healthy way to go. Great to have to the confirmation though as those who override their body’s signals now have it in black and white!

  4. It would be great if information like this was available to study throughout school, what could be more important than understanding and caring for our bodies? The human body is truly wondrous, but we treat them in such an awful manner, as if they have no value, when they are something for us to be in daily awe of.

  5. Dianne, I loved your simple and understandable explanation about the science of early to bed, I got it.
    This is why despite going to bed early from time to time, we wake up worse, as our bodies haven’t caught up with the back log of processing.

    I have been in a rhythm of early to bed for a good 3 years now and it is the best thing I have done to support my body. I absolutely LOVE waking up early, anywhere between 3-4 am feels just a magical time for me. More or less everywhere around me is quiet and that stillness is what my body loves in preparation for the day ahead.

    The only way we know how our bodies are going to respond is to make the commitment to changing our rhythms of taking our bodies to bed, and then keep the consistency going. And I found when there is a day when that rhythm is broken thinking I’ll just keep going, it affects my sleep – what a confirmation of what is supportive and what is not.

  6. When I go to bed at 9pm, I wake up really rested and connected to my body. This allows me to be more aware of every movement I do, and then it’s easy to know what cares for or hurts it. It’s clear that this simple choice of going to bed early is a great support of many more loving choices I can do during the next day.

  7. When I see how tired the pupils I teach often are I do wonder at how the trend not to go to bed early has been allowed to become the norm. It is such a simple concept yet has such profound consequences on our health and mental wellbeing that it seems strange that it is not more widely adopted.

  8. Great to re-read the science behind the early to bed advice. My Gran, tho knowing nothing about the science, was true in her suggestion then. Western lifestyle with late night parties nightclubs etc together with so much electric light let alone ipads and computers in our bedrooms, don’t serve us to get the deep unstressed sleep we all need. Hence the rush for coffee on waking and the explosion of coffee shops everywhere..

    1. Sue I’m glad you mentioned the electronic gadgets, for me they are a lethal weapon for sleep deprivation.

      I’ve experimented on myself and if I watch TV or attend to any social media or text messages later on in the evening, from after 8pm, then you can kiss goodbye to the quality of my sleep. I have a disturbed night and / or I wake up stimulated well before my body is ready. You might as well have administered a stimulant, as my eyes come bing open, and yet my body feels unrested and the rest of the day I feel I’m carrying this heavy body.

      Try it and you may see and feel it too.

  9. You certainly present us with a very clear case for the benefits of going to bed early, something that so many of us fight against. It’s almost like an early bed-time is not cool and you’re acting like an old person before you need to be. Well this ‘old person’ has always loved going to bed early, but I love it even more knowing all the amazing processes that are going on in my wonderful body while I sleep, processes which are there to support me throughout my waking hours, and which I have come to deeply appreciate.

  10. I don’t need to understand how the mechanics of how a car works for me to be able to drive one, just like I don’t really need to understand the science of the body that confirms the benefits of early to bed and early to rise. In doing so and experiencing the benefits I already know the science in that it works for me. What is lovely about what you share Dianne is irrefutable confirmation of what is already a known, especially for those naysayers who want to see proof in black and white before they make different choices.

  11. Sleep is not just ‘sleep’ where nothing happens, but quite the opposite and lots is taking place. Resting is not just about a body coming to a halt, but in order for us to rejuvenate and revitalise, it needs to be given decent space and timing.

  13. When we realise that going to bed by 9pm is not going to bed ‘early’ but is what our body is naturally calling for we know this is ‘normal’.

    1. Good call Mary. I know someone who gets tired by 9 pm but won’t go to bed and instead pushes through, then can’t sleep because they become over-wired! 9 pm is the new normal for bedtime and then there is so much space on waking earlier than might be the case.

  15. It’s great to have the insight into the many jobs the body does at specific times throughout our day and night cycles. Even better were your final paragraphs about how we don’t even need to know this or read research, just listen to and honour our bodies and see the results in our health, wellbeing and vitality.

  16. “Go to bed early! It can change your life”. I have a feeling that if you shared this with most people you would not get a great response – probably something like: ‘I can’t. I’ve got too much to do’, or ‘going to bed early is for babies and old people’. Well I have been changing my sleep patterns over the last few years, going to bed early and getting up early, and I can say that making this choice has definitely changed my life – for the better. I have been my own scientific sleep experiment.

  17. Thank you Dianne for making the science of “Early to Bed’ so accessible. Committing to going to bed and getting to sleep between 9-10pm has been so supportive not just for my physical well being but also for my mental health as I find issues that are concerning me are often resolved after a rejuvenating night’s sleep and now I understand why.

  18. Going to bed early is really honouring our body, as we expect it to function fully yet we don’t always give it the best treatment I have found going to bed early truly supports me and my body.

    1. Yes it is supporting the body rather than expecting it to carry on regardless of how we abuse it during the day and then not giving it the opportunity to recuperate at the time that works best for it.

  19. Dianne you bring simplicity to science which makes things easy to understand and at the same time it makes perfect sense.

  20. Is it not very interesting that the whole societal life takes place around the times that you share are the most beneficial times of our whole body make up and soul?!

  21. Dianne, you let science sound easy and playful. I love that and I can relate to what you are sharing by your down-to-earth practical sharing.

    2. This is what I love about Dianne, that she has a way of making science ‘sound easy and playful’, unlike my science teachers who used make it so boring and dry, and so offering me no inspiration to take note and learn. I could read science blogs like this every single day and not get bored.

  22. Love the science of how this works and how the body responds to going to bed early. I know for me I haven’t been aware of all that you share Diane but I have certainly felt the difference when I made the shift and commitment to myself and feeling like a completely different person. Sometimes I work and get home later but where ever else I can dedicate to this and even deeper than I have to get the full repose the body needs to be able to regenerate itself.

  23. Going to bed early nourishes and sustains us on many levels.. it’s a way of taking care of ourselves that actually leaves us feeling more refreshed and ready to deal with whatever is ahead of us.

  24. Re-reading this blog is so gorgeous – there is always something to bring more awareness to and begin to embody it deeper as a rhythm and cycle of daily life.

  25. What a simple science experiment to take part in– Early to Bed by 9pm….with true feedback offered from the body itself. No laboratory conditions, strict regulations or vast expense required.

    1. Yes anyone is free to experiment with themselves and explore the resulting feedback from the body.

  26. Wow! This blog is so inspiring to read – a great confirmation that we are all part of something far grander than just going to sleep at night to possibly ‘feel better’ in the morning. We are intrinsically part of the U N I V E R S E, whether we accept this or not.
    “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try)”.

  27. ‘If you go to sleep much after 9 pm, you miss out on the ‘narrow window of opportunity’, the quiet time in which your brain can do the crucial first lot of work it has to, to get ready for the later work of the night and for tomorrow.’ Why would we want to miss out on this quiet time so things get done properly, this fine tuned instrument of us, the body, needs our care and nurturing into the smallest details and when we learn to listen we will feel the huge benefits of honouring what we feel. I love going to bed early already for years and I know this will not change.

  28. Yes I agree, starting the day with some key jobs done before going to work means I am much less ‘loaded’ by what I feel I have waiting for me when I get home!

  29. This is such a great step by step approach to a tool we have in our own medicine cabinet, that has no costs attached to it and can be implemented and experimented with any time we choose. It doesn’t need a body of evidence – our body and its response to the life we are living is evidence enough!

  30. Very interesting what you say about science being retrospective to the known wisdom your body has already registered as truth. And here I am questioning why I would want to be agreed with and confirmed by others before I can totally embrace my perception as truth, which I sometimes find myself doing.

  31. Our bodies are constantly giving us clues as to how to treat it we just have to be humble and obedient to its messages.

  32. Our bodies tell us instantly whats going on. The being inside knows this. The timeframe of knowing this instant knowing depends on the energy we are allowing to power our life. The spirit and it’s measured and controlled manner or the Soul which allows it all instantly with no holding back.

  33. We like to think we have control over our bodies, but I love how you have explained the relationship between the hippocampus and cortex part of the brain. When we get ourselves out of the way and simply let the body get on and do what it needs to it can take the trying and control out of life. Simply by going to bed when our bodies say they have had enough for the day is really quite simple, so interesting that many of us like to fight this.

  34. I was speaking with a relative yesterday who was sharing how they were so tired, we came to understand that they had been going to bed later and waking up later. It’s obvious when we look at it after but gradually although they were having the same time in bed they were more tired. Shows the power of not time in sleep but when we sleep and the quality of that sleep.

  35. Going to bed early has been a game changer in my life. The effects have led to healthier food choices, abundance of energy throughout the day and more room and care in the home space. That a win win situation by far!

  36. I love how you have broken down the study and made it simple and digestible to understand. I have read a lot of studies and they can be written in such a way that it is actually hard to understand. Reasearch is for us as humanity and it would be great if we would generally write it in a more understandable way in which it is also applicable to life. This would mean to let go of the ‘official research style writing’ and just write as we would normally do.

  37. The difference in me the day after I go to bed early/when my body asks me too is extremely stark.

  38. When our mind continually tells us that if we don’t stay up we are missing out, we are simply listening to the wrong ” channel”. We need to tune in just a little bit deeper, and feel what is really there to be heard.

  39. If we consider the whole day as a 24 hour cycle we return to each day, it makes sense to wind down each evening and prepare for a restoring sleep time each night.

  40. Dianne I love the simplicity of this blog, our whole body working to maximise the space that it is given to restore our body from our daily choices, and how if we don’t honour our body with the optimum space by going to bed early, the body ends up overwhelmed and we end up exhausted and open to illness and disease, I know from my own experiences how totally out of kilter I feel if I don’t honour my body with a regular early bed time.

  41. Not only is it great to be in bed by 9:00pm it is absolutely WONDERFUL to get up early. I often get up around 3:00am and the quality of the early morning is something very special and precious. So very much better to work gracefully and joyfully in the early morning with the stillness that is available than to stay up late.

    1. I used to find this when I was at school, I couldn’t stay awake late because there was so much going on in our house but waking early – even though it was cold, meant I got my work done so quickly and efficiently.

      1. The weird thing is that I have always loved going to bed early and getting up early but for some strange reason never did it when I was younger because nobody else did. These days I listen to my own body and wisdom which works really well rather than doing the so called normal which I can see is anyway not actually working for most people.

  42. Our bodies are the best scientists, and when we really listen to what they have to say, they tell us in no uncertain terms what they want! The more I listen and respect my body, the more energy I have and the surer and steadier, and more committed I feel. It’s quite amazing how things start to change when we listen to our bodies and live from there, instead of letting all our beliefs, pictures and expectations get in the way.

  43. What is the reason we think we need to catch-up on sleep? Could it be the ill choices we have made that leads us to exhaustion and is like trying to fill a bucket that has a hole in it? What is required is a new bucket.

  44. Diane this is a brilliant piece explaining the benefits of ‘early to bed’. I have worked shift work for many years and often felt quite exhausted and would get sick quite regularly, but since committing to getting to bed early, (when I am not working shift work,) has made a huge difference to my overall health and well-being and the way I cope with shift work.

  45. Understanding the scienctific reasoning behind early nights is such a great support, I can see how complicated I make life by overriding when I feel tired to get a bit more done. It makes such a difference going to sleep between 8pm and 9pm because I wake up earlier, feeling more prepared for the day (because my internal filing has been done) and have space to prepare for my day.

  46. Last night I put my daughter to bed an hour earlier, she had the same amount of sleep as normal because I needed to wake her early but felt far more vibrant.

  48. The Ageless Wisdom has indeed being around forever, the problem is we have not being listening to it and living it and that is why we are in the mess we are today with our rates of illness/disease/suicide etc. Live the truth of the Ageless Wisdom and life changes enormously.

  49. It is totally fascinating how science can explain the intricacy of how and what happens in our body – but that must have been a lot of hard work and effort finding out those details and I am totally with you that the truth is already within our body for us to pay attention and listen to, and we do not have to wait for a research to say that is now officially the truth.

  50. What is really interesting is that we can’t really accumulate sleep and yet if we miss a few good nights sleep we can feel so depleted.

  51. Wow the consequences of constant late nights are huge. If our health can be affected in this way and it is so easily avoidable why would we not change our late night habit and opt for something that is going to help us to feel vital and more alive. A no brainer really.

    1. And this is just one lifestyle habit, it doesn’t include our diet, exercise, emotional states, relationships, etc. We can see how all the choices we make can add up to some kind of stress, harm or damage to the body, or alternatively nurture and support the body to be and stay well.

  52. This is a great blog for students at University and for all of us who compromise on our sleep and push ourselves to the point of exhaustion. When we are young we want to ignore the facts you have presented here but our bodies eventually show us what we are unwilling to look at ourselves. Any continued disregard and even short term abuse can pay a huge toll on the body that if we don’t address now will resurface later to be cleared and healed.

  53. Early to bed certainly changed my life.. to the point where I went from fighting life to enjoying life. A simple change that is incredibly powerful.

  55. One day, perhaps soon, we might have a study on not just the time we go to sleep but the effect of what is done and said. I can see in my chemistry that any disagreement or argument, especially in the evening has ripple effects on my body and my bed time. If we really saw the damage frustration and anger do, perhaps we would revise our view of ‘the occasional blue’. For in truth we’re disagreeing with God and it’s clear this has got to hurt. Thanks Dianne for unpacking the science of bedtime rhythms and how we avoid what’s so supportive in many ways.

  56. Beautiful to read the science that is supporting what my body has always been telling me but I chose so often to allow my mind to dismiss.

  57. ‘Go to bed early! It can change your life.’ A powerful quote that is true in every sense of the word. This one consistent choice affects feeling, health, commitment, purpose and energy levels. It’s a win, win choice.

  58. It really is one of the most liberating rhythms to develop… To be attentive enough to our bodies to go to sleep when it really is needed and when it really supports the body.

  59. We are the only species on this planet that are disobedient to the cycles that govern us. That is, we make a move away from the universal order we are a part of and we create our own rhythm within this, except it is not a rhythm at all but a note of discord that sounds through our bodies creating ripples that eventually manifest as illness and disease which is our body’s way of alerting us we have stepped out of tune with the divine symphony we are a part of.

  60. From my own experience I can definitely say that there are several benefits from going to bed early, I wake up refreshed and ready for the day, and I no longer feel tired and exhausted through the day either.

  61. For me it was late to bed with my work and then late to rise, once I made a change and started to be able to go to bed earlier then I started to feel the difference in the quality of my being and how I felt during the day. This is scientific evidence in itself because I could feel the tangible and practical difference in how I felt. Some times I have to work late but that is ok as I support myself with other things as well and make the most of the times that I can get to bed early.

  62. If life was as easy as ‘to be or not to be’ it would surely be a simple thing to be ‘free’. But it’s not as easy as this. For we all find ourselves at the end of a series of choices. Each choice leads into the next and builds a momentum. It’s these ‘unseen’ forces of built up energy that is at play a lot of the time. So it’s not just a simple case of going to bed tonight at 9 but arresting an ill energy that has been running the roost for quite some time. When we say no we can finally act and make common sense and the true living facts that we know, real. Thank you Dianne for presenting the beautiful science of life.

  63. I love the straight forward and easy to understand nature of your blogs Dianne. Reading the bit about the cortex and how the brain restores itself at different times of the night makes complete sense. This in itself would make me want to at least try it out, if I didnt go to bed early already.

  65. My body is my scientist and my body says without a doubt that going to bed early is the way to go.
    Going to bed early makes my whole life flow.

  66. Great analogy of how the brain doing it’s time-sensitive filing at the most supportive time can transform our health and well-being. Despite working on refining my wind down routine for several years I can still sabotage myself and end up not going to sleep between 9-10pm but I am more aware of the consequences of this behaviour and what you are presenting here is another layer of understanding for me to deepen my commitment to ensure my movements support me to take better care of myself.

  67. Yes, the benefits of going to bed early speak for themselves in so many ways, it’s just a true support for the body and what it needs.

  68. I love the science of early to bed, for me I found this to be a revolutionary science, One that effects everything in my life, each day builds on the one before.

  69. All the scientific findings are interesting but the truth is in the pattern and the effect it has on you. I have not had an alarm clock in ten years, the only one I need is already built-in. I love walking up and enjoying the stillness that always comes with the sunrise every day.

  70. I love how you can explain the complicated processes and interactions of the brain and body functions through metaphors that make them easily understandable. The need for sleeping between certain hours is paramount and having lived to this rhythm, after decades of the opposite, can only concur with what you have shared. Our bodies are extraordinary machines and work best when we support them in their natural rhythm rather than push them into our own.

  71. I would love science to explain why we have the cheeky need to stay up later, like somehow, the night seems so much more appealing. I have finally broken my late to beds and I have to agree, my whole life is changing, it really does work, if you are unsure, the best idea is to try it for yourself and you will see the results clearly. Over sleeping is my biggest killer, if I sleep in, I wake up grumpy and groggy.

  72. The findings that going to bed outside the optimum hours, even for a long period of time, really erodes the argument that many ‘night owls’ use to justify their sleeping habits. Could it be there is something else afoot, throwing out their natural body rhythms?

  73. Wow! That’s an impressive list of conditions a decent night’s sleep (and then some) can alleviate. Going to bed consistently early really is good medicine. No, make that GREAT medicine!

  74. I love the breakdown of why sleep is important, what should be happening and what we are missing out on. It helps me understand why it is important for me to consider my choices. I have also found there is a choice about how I take myself to bed at 9pm and what I have chosen to do in the lead up to that bedtime. For example, am I slamming on the brakes and crashing to a stop, or am I slowing down and coming to a gentle stop? The choice is mine and the consequences on my sleep are mine.

    1. Great analogy Lucy! And we do often speak about ‘crashing’ in terms of going to bed.

  75. If I stay up later than what my body is telling me, or sleep longer than I need to, both of these things have me feeling more tired and lethargic. Going to bed early and waking up early and refreshed, is a rhythm that my body enjoys.

  76. I used to stay up pretty late all the time and felt very low for much of the time. Inspired by Serge Benhayon, I started going to bed by 9pm and waking at 5am and felt myself become more balanced not only in my mood but all areas of my life. Some years later I was working shifts and found it very difficult to adjust to this. I experienced the low moods again, which makes sense when I consider the science you have just presented Dianne.

  77. Yes going to bed early is something that has been a process of getting used to, I used to love staying up late and watching tv a lot, thinking that it was winding me down from the day. I know that isn’t the case anymore, I know that when you honour when you feel tired and go to bed, you really feel the benefits the next day.

  78. This statement is so true and a great reminder to lovingly attend to my ‘going to bed’ rhythm;
    “So the consequences can be more than just ‘feeling tired’. And the whole equation gets tighter as you get older, like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!”
    An interesting and informative blog to read thank you Dianne.

  79. Science works! My body knows loud and clear if I stay up too late I get to feel the choices I’ve made as soon as the alarm goes off. If I make choices to listen, reboot and recharge earlier in the evening the internal clock wakes me with a more loving tone.

  80. Going to bed when our body tells us it is best to, is not rocket science. Pushing on, distracting and overriding these key messages is a form of rebellion, a rebellion that hurts not only the person choosing it but everyone.

  81. The research was great to read Dianne, and as you say it can only confirm what the body is already telling us. Brain shrinkage feels good to avoid! 🙂

  82. It is fascinating how something so simple can have such a profound effect on our lives. The more I see sleep as a time to rejuvinate and rebuild the more I value it. There is such a difference when I close my eyes at night to shut out the world and end the day as opposed to when I close my eyes to truly rest.

    1. Yes valuing sleep rather than discarding sleep could the the difference between vitality and lethargy in our daily movements.

      1. I remember years ago being asked the question do I close my eyes to shut out the world at the end of the day and essentially get some respite or do I close them to connect to myself to surrender to all that I am? There is a vast difference between the 2 and the quality of sleep I have I find varies hugely just from the intention behind the way I choose to go to sleep.

  83. So many people want ‘evidence’ to prove something. Yet. like yourself, my body deeply knows the importance of going to bed early. We are our own walking experiments. I have never understood why similar anecdotal evidence, especially when collected from so many different people, is not accepted as hard evidence of truth. No need for a controlled trial – going to bed early indeed changes your life.

  84. This exposes the lack of regard we have for our body and the true value of sleep, we tend to believe it is all happening when we are awake and this is the extent of what we are to live. Life is so much more. This blog shows the ‘masterpiece’ the body truly is and its inticate workings. Very enlightening and appreciated Dianne – thank you.

  85. My body knows when it has been deprived of early nights. It doesn’t feel supported in the same way. Just one early night is enough to give me the spring in my step back. Why would I want to lose that?

  86. I have been following the natural rhythms of my body for about 10 years now and feel more vital than ever before. The research is catching up with the wisdom of the body, so for those who need scientific ‘proof’ of what the body innately knows and therefore feel supported to try it for themselves as a result, this is awesome.

  87. True wisdom can be powerfully simple – and an appreciation of the greater order and harmony of the universe of which we are a part will help us live in accordance with its cycles, as these are equally our cycles.

    1. So true Annie, how often do we arrogantly consider ourselves to live and exist in isolation missing out on the support of connecting our cycles with the cycles of the universe in which we live?

  88. Such great and very practical advice and explanations as to why going to bed early is so beneficial. I spent much of my younger life convinced that if I went to bed late, I could catch up on my sleep in the morning and get up late, but it is clear from your blog that this is not the case. Thanks Dianne for yet again making it easy to understand and put into practice the importance of taking true care of our bodies.

  89. Yes it’s great to see some research showing how ‘early to bed early to rise’ is not just an old wives’ tale. I have often been going to bed later in the last few months and I can really feel the difference. I am more tired in the day, am checking out more and not so generally alive and vital. I have been wanting to set the clocks straight, as it were, but not been consistent. I feel your blog will support me Dianne to get back on track. Thank you.

  91. Sparking writing Dianne.. informative, insightful, and life changing too!

  92. I totally get now how going to bed early supports our body to regenerate and look after all that we have put it through, throughout the the day, and when we don’t support ourselves though allowing our body enough time for it to regenerate, we can become ill through sickness and disease as it tries to get our attention in that we are not supporting ourselves, and that we need to address the choices that we have been making.

    1. There is a such a simple science here – go to bed early and you will feel regenerated. Stay up late and the opposite occurs.

  93. Using myself as this science experiment, I found the results so compelling to every particle in my body and to many areas (if not all) in my life, that going to bed early is now a given.

  94. Brilliant blog Dianne – I love how you share and bring understanding to the science of the body and the smallest of details about the physiology of the body and how this is affected in different ways, by our choosing to go to bed early or late.

  95. I can see a correlation between my going to bed late and feeling low…”Among those consequences of repeatedly going to sleep after 9 pm are a measurable (9%) shrinkage of the good ol’ buddy hippocampus, a degree of shrinkage associated with depression.” I do not drink any more and if I ever do have late nights, which is rare now, I often wake up feeling like I have a hang over…like my body had no chance to recuperate and regenerate….bed earlier works for me, very nourishing and supportive.

    1. In my experience a late night is worse than an early night – in the beginning it may only deplete reserves but after a while it may take some time to recover.

  96. Yes, this is true Dianne. Since I have been choosing to go to bed early, my body clock automatically and quite naturally awakens very early too. These early mornings are precious and magical with a deep sense of a quality of stillness as a foundation for the day,
    “Going to sleep by 9 pm is the way to go if you want to be a healthy, vibrant, well-balanced, and adaptable, on-the-ball human being, feeling great and making the most of life”.

  97. I always had problems with going to bed on time and couldn’t sleep for hours when I did go to bed (too late).
    Since I follow the rhythm of my body and thus going to bed early and getting up early, I am asleep before I know.

  98. In answer to your question – no I don’t find any of those things difficult at all, but I certainly used to in the past. My life has completely changed in ways I could only call miraculous since I started going to bed early, getting up very early, cleaning up my diet and living according to the tenets of The Way of The Livingness – pure joy!

  99. It’s such simple advice, yet how many of us actually live this in life? Sometimes it can feel like there is force pulling us to go the other way – like a rip in a wave pulling us further away from slumber, our sheets and our bed. Before too long we can find ourselves at 11 o’clock wondering what went ‘wrong’. Yet what I get from what you say Dianne, is that life is about quality of energy and simply choosing the one that Loves and supports us, can sometimes seem hard, but is all we ever need to do. Just writing this I feel I am bound to sleep soundly!

  100. I was just reading the recent statistics on the alarming rates of illness related to so many people not being able to sleep. The causes and long term illnesses were endless. Why not take a leaf out of this great blog- a simple yet great start to bring the basics back to life. Early to bed and early to rise does bring vitality but so does the willingness to bring responsibility into the equation.

  101. I have found that I have had an urge to go to bed early , and get an early night but am always finding myself in bed after I planned to, and then retrace my steps back into my evening, which was set up to not feel what the day was like, to see what I feel like and reflect. But when actually making the early night not by force but by self-love it was awesome!

  102. Pingback: World SLEEP Day | Simple Living Global

  103. I have found most important companion to going to sleep early is to make sure that there is no stimulation or excitement in the time before heading to bed.

  104. I was always a ‘night owl’, I used to nap in the day and be up for pretty much most the night. On weekends I never went out for the night until at least 10pm, you can imagined what ensued from there… My favourite time to be awake was and still is the early hours of the morning, except now I approach it from the other end in the sense that instead of being awake all night to appreciate the stillness of these hours (although I do challenge you to appreciate stillness when you have been in motion for most the night!) I now, like you Dianne, go to bed early so I can wake feeling rested in the early morning quiet. I have a busy life so this time to myself is sacred and provides a solid foundation for the rest of my day. I feel the reason why we find it so hard to go to bed early, despite being so exhausted we could collapse if we let ourselves, is that we do not feel we have got the most out of our day in the sense that we have not been fully present and committed and truly enjoying the tasks we are engaged with (or not engaging with!) and it is this feeling of un-fulfilment that has us seeking fillers such as food, TV, entertainment by the time the day draws to a close so we keep ourselves up to ‘get something more’.

  105. Surely, it’s not rocket science is it to simply see that winding down and resting early will lead to a happier body? Old sayings and common place traditions show that it has long been widely known. But the fascinating point to what you share Dianne here, is just how we resist and fight the facts. We doggedly do the opposite of what common sense would seem to be. Heaven knows that if just half of us listened finally, the health and well-being of this world would probably transform overnight.

    1. There is a certain arrogance in us that thinks we can defy the laws and cycles of nature that govern us and choose instead to impose our own rhythm that does naught to truly support the expression of who we really are.

  106. I couldn’t live my life any other way if I didnt go to bed around 9pm. Many times it is earlier and very very occasionally a little later though on these occasions I know it is going to happen so can prepare myself and body for a change in routine. It is confirming to read this blog as it shows listening to and working with my body is the way to go!

  107. Thanks for explaining the science behind going to bed early. It certainly has changed my life. I have just completed some work this morning. That is definitely one of the bonuses for me of an early night. I am able to get a lot done without rushing and with a feeling of ease and focus when I wake early after a great nights rest.

  108. Great blog Dianne . . . nobody could read this and dispute the evidence you have presented here . . . just as anybody who has already tried and tested going to bed early can vouch for the many benefits this brings.

  109. I agree going to bed early AND getting up early has certainly changed my life and in a great way!

  110. What you share here confirms what I already feel in my body – that is – if I go to bed early – I am much more vibrant the next day. It is true that we wait around for science to prove things before we convert – but the fact is the science is already there – in our bodies. There is nothing that we can avoid feeling if we are willing to listen.

  111. I used to love camping because i naturally gravitated to the cycles of nature, going to bed when it got dark and waking early with the birds and hearing the dawn chorus. Since returning to this rhythm of early to bed and early rising my body loves it. I very rarely break this pattern and often go to bed even earlier if I feel under the weather. Sleep is so healing, yet so many feel exhausted in their work day and often protest when I mention the possibility of experimenting with going to bed early. The spirit is very resistant!

  112. This blog is brilliant as it simply shows that our cycles are part of a far bigger cycle which is the universe that we live in. We can intellectualise and rationalise our thinking is so many ways yet the body knows its union is primarily with the bigger picture.

  113. How often do we resist this natural flow of the body, causing mayhem that we have no idea we are doing to ourselves, especially when we stay up at night watching TV or out socialising, we take it as normal….. It begs the question are we willing to listen as this is our body communicating and supporting us to be vital, clear and present, maybe this is why we have so much illness and disease, depression, suicide, the list could go on and on but lack of quality sleep affects our ability the body has in supporting us, simple science really and I wonder what the world would look like if we all changed our rhythms to early to bed.

  114. I love going to bed early, thank you for sharing the science behind this Dianne. ‘The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies…’ Beautiful.

  115. I love the way you present the science of life with the wisdom to live life gracefully. This is an art form we all need to learn to live a full, enjoyable and healthy life.

  116. Dianne, reading this today I’m struck by how we and our bodies are part of a wider rhythm and despite our arrogance in assuming we can over-ride this, our bodies show us clearly that there is a natural rhythm and cycle which truly supports us and to step away from this has consequences, not always obvious but there nonetheless. Thank you for educating me with the science here, I’ve found personally that the earlier the go to bed, the more refreshed and focused I feel in my day, and the more present I feel with myself – I am more alive in all I do.

  117. Makes sense that science can only find ‘objective’ proof of what subjectively and naturally is known by listening to the body. Interesting that the mind can dissociate so much from the body that it needs to look at it from the outside to measure what happens inside, to then consider the possibility of complying with the body – or not.

  118. Hehe, though not funny really, I found this great blog again this morning and it is sooo appropriate. Last night I stayed up later than normal and enjoyed a conversation with a friend after a rather stimulating day. This resulted in going to bed later than usual and I was wide awake for 2 hours before I got to sleep. I can feel the effects of this right now, not fully myself and rather tired. The hippocampus has spoken and I have learned something! Early to bed tonight so the filing can be done with plenty of time.

  119. There is so much in what you have shared here Dianne, when we listen to what our bodies are saying, actually going to bed when we feel to, there is a huge difference in our bodies the next day. I know this is definitely the case for me and I feel the benefits when I do honour what I feel.

  120. I love hearing and talking about the hippocampus…. Once you get over the initial image of a large mammal in a tent, then the wonder of the universe is there within us… thank you again Dianne.

  121. I am passing this email link straight on to someone, it makes such perfect and complete sense of sleep issues and how to work with them.

  122. Thank you Dianne this is super informative and so supports going to bed early. I know that when I go to bed at 10pm I do not feel so rested for so long the next day. I usually am late to bed because I am trying to squeeze extra things into my day and not allowing enough spaciousness for me to feel really appreciative and loving of where I am at.

  124. “Answer: Go to bed early! It can change your life.” Sometimes the best answer is the simplest one but we override it because we are wanting a more complicated solution.

  125. This is my kind of science Dianne – simple, down to earth and so very practical. Simply brilliant!

  126. You are the best science teacher around! I wish you were mine at high school. You make it so simple and easy to understand and so so fascinating. Thank you.

  127. Dianne you have made the science of sleep so easy and simple to understand that it makes total sense to go to bed early. What you show is that going to bed late is like turning up late for work and having to cram things into the day, only it never works because we are out of sync and out of rhythm with the day and putting ourselves under unnecessary stress.

  128. I love this, it is a great understanding of why our body breaks down when it doesn’t have enough sleep, and early sleep. As you have shared, this actually confirms what my body says – the many nights falling asleep on the sofa now translate to taking myself to bed earlier and feeling much more vital in the morning.

  129. I used to be someone that would stay up late, wanting to get the most out of the day – be it TV, reading or chatting with people on the phone. The problem came the morning after, tired, irritated and wanting to sleep in. My day felt like I was always behind. Bring in sleeping when my body asks and it has transformed my life. The mornings I am full of zest and aliveness, I would recommend this experiment to everyone.

  130. I love reading the science of what we feel to be true. I love that we are connected to a larger rhythm.

  131. My experience has been the same Dianne, going to bed early has ensured that I feel refreshed and able to function from 4am, attend meetings before work across many volunteer projects I am involved in, work a full work day, then be social and experience great relationships that I hold in my life. I attribute a lot of this to going to bed early.

  132. Your scientific research backs up what I have always known is best for me, and that’s an early night really suits me, but what if – like many – they are ‘ night owls’? I have observed this also and the long term results do show many of the mental, and bodily symptoms you have listed. Why is it then not a recommendation that we hear of this cycle being vital to our well being and generally the health of the nation.

  133. I have been my own experiment with going to bed at 9, easily and naturally waking at 4. 30 ish. My body loves it and many things have changes as a result…. I feel it’s the most amazing support in my wellbeing and vitality, energy levels, even temperament, sparkle and general willingness to be as interested in and involved with all that is presented. It doesn’t mean I climb mountains or extreme anything, but just having the clarity to respond with a depth of connection and support I feel from honouring the natural rhythms the body loves. When I do have a late night occasionally, my body lets me know with a dense head, heaviness in the body, no feeling of sparkle and vitality, so then I can’t wait to get back to my early to bed early to rise.

  134. Thank you Dianne for providing the scientific research that helps us to understand what our bodies already know.

  135. So true Dianne… “Go to bed early! It can change your life.” Such a simple thing, and yet the impact on the body is enormous, especially when you add that up 365 days of the year, for 70 odd years of life. Understanding the science behind it is very helpful too. In my experience and observation, when kids grow up with this basic daily rhythm of being in bed and asleep early, their health, their demeanour, temperament and their ability to cope with life is enormously advantaged.

  136. Absolutely love your sharing on the topic of going to bed early, it makes so much sense scientifically as well a practically. I have been going to bed early for the last 5yrs and my health has improved so much. I have so much more energy, i am able to work longer days and be more productive.

  137. What a fun way to present biology and physiology. It makes much more sense.
    I go to bed early too and have done for some years. I find it hugely supportive in my every day, being able to get up early and use that extra time well has made such a difference to my life and energy levels. I am no longer exhausted which is a massive bonus.

  138. I can only agree with what is said here. Since I started going to bed earlier – usually at 9pm, I feel very different. Less anxious for one thing, more engaged with life for another. Whereas once upon a time I would wrestle with sleep and wake up in the night – or struggle to get to sleep – these days I get to sleep quickly and easily and almost never wake up until it is time to get up. This can be early in the morning – as it is now in fact – but this is very productive time I once missed out on. We can wait for the scientific community to catch up with this – or we can be our own scientist and explore it for ourselves. Why wait?

  139. It’s very cool to think that our bodies work in cycles and that there is a natural time to go to bed that benefits everyone. What’s more while many will wait for scientific evidence and at the moment it is not cool to be in bed by 9pm, and there is thus great resistance to getting an early night, ultimately, our bodies are giving us that evidence in the form of how we feel after each night’s sleep. But perhaps worthy of most consideration is that, very few of us at least, really understand how well we could feel, and that going to bed early can play a huge part in our optimal wellness.

  140. We wouldn’t take our computer or our smartphone and unplug it in the middle of an important software upgrade. If we did would quite reasonably expect it to be a problem. So no wonder we experience ‘performance issues’ when we short-circuit our own body’s nightly upgrades. You make it crystal clear Dianne that it is not about quantity of sleep, but the timing of this all, for our bodies internal processes to be truly in sync.

  141. This blog is certainly cool Dianne, I love the explanations, facts, knowledge and wisdom you present.

  142. From your sharing of the innate wonders of the Hippocampus and the Cortex, I love the knowing that while I am asleep there is a busy “night shift” working away to ensure that everything that can be done to keep my body’s processes flowing smoothly, is done. But I know that I cannot just sit (lay) back and let this happen by itself, I too have a huge role to play in the quality of my sleep and my body; it is the depth of care that I bring to myself that supports this “night shift” to do its invaluable job.

  143. I can say that I truly appreciate sleep – what it does to the body, how it absolutely supports the body. Sleep in the sense that it is not the amount so much as the quality. I used to see sleep as a way to recover from an exhausted body, but to now see it is a way to keep building my body has changed my relationship with it. I used to sleep and be more tired when I woke up, however now sleep supports with my vibrancy during the day.

  145. Most nights now I can feel my body get tired from around 730pm, sometimes earlier. I have always known this. I recall when I was at Uni I was much better for going to bed early and getting up early to complete all of my work. I didn’t mean that I never pulled late nights. I have always enjoyed going to bed early, even though I may have ignored it for a long time, and am pleased that this is how I live again now.

  146. Amazing to have an answer to so many questions – go to bed early! Shown by a scientific reasoning and explained simply. Absolutely richly packed vital information to file for a more healthier and vital life. Much appreciation for the clear understanding of the Why questions that are always asked – thank you Dianne.

  147. I so enjoy coming back to this blog Dianne, your explanations and knowledge are clear and very well explained; the wisdom you present is much appreciated;
    “Going to sleep by 9 pm is the way to go if you want to be a healthy, vibrant, well-balanced, and adaptable, on-the-ball human being, feeling great and making the most of life”.

  148. The majority of the time I am in bed before nine o’clock and often even asleep by seven o’clock. When I break this routine and have a late night, I feel like I have a hang over the next morning unless I plan and prepare for it by having extra early nights for a couple of nights before the late night. I find the quality of my sleep is determined by the way I go to bed. When I had been engaged in something stimulating up until I go to bed I do not sleep well at all and don’t wake feeling refreshed. When I wind down a few hours before bed and don’t do activities that stimulate my mind, I sleep better and wake up feeling vital.

  149. “So the consequences (of going to bed after 9pm) can be more than just ‘feeling tired’. And the whole equation gets tighter as you get older, like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!”
    A poignant reminder that, at any time, we are the sum of our choices; clear and simple.

  150. This habit to go to bed late really shows how we have not really lived everything we can during our day, so in the evening we feel it has not been enough and going to bed early gives us the feeling that we are missing out on something.

  151. From experience I can say going to bed early is not as bad as it sounds, it is actually very very honouring. When I talk to people I so often hear about how they fall asleep on the couch in front of the TV but do not feel like going to bed yet as it is so early and they want to spend time with their partner – but really it all does not make sense, our partners and families have more of us the next day if we had a good nights sleep.

  152. Wow Dianne, that are a lot of conditions that can be addressed by changing just one habit – I say it is worth it!

  153. “Although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen.” Perhaps it is time to re-learn to listen to our bodies otherwise the illness and disease rate will run through the roof.

  154. Diane I love “The Science of ‘Early to Bed” for me this science made so much sense as I only can agree. My whole body love to go to bed early and to wake up early and so I did not really need a science to explain the benefit of it but to have it is wonderful as it explains the benefit for all who needs science as they have lost their connection to their bodies.

  155. Science for everyone, science for everyone to understand, science that is logical, science that is accessible for everyone, science that makes a hundred percent sense – true science.

  156. Thanks Dianne once again your sense of fun, humour, lived experience and scientific mind come together in this great blog, giving us the opportunity to better understand the importance of sleep and the cycles involved.

  157. If I go to bed late due to work I am finding that making up for the time lost on the other side in the morning doesn’t work. Our bodies do have a window in which it knows sleep to be in and when this is honoured I am finding that even if I go to bed late, my body feels more refreshed waking up at its normal time rather than staying in to get in the hours.

  158. Thanks Dianne for a very interesting blog. For years I have known that I feel better when I have gone to bed early and certainly feel sluggish the next day when I have had late nights. I have also found that sleeping in doesn’t really help. Your blog has shown why this is the case. This information is gold and certainly something that would benefit children being taught right from the beginning to set up good sleeping patterns for the rest of their lives.

  159. Thank you Dianne, I love the humour with which you have presented something that is so important and supportive for our health and wellbeing, we need to understand that going to bed early as well as the quality in which we do that is medicine and should be treated as a sacred part of our daily rhythm.

  160. Thank you Dianne, your lived wisdom and knowledge of science makes this a very interesting read.

  161. I love how you’ve laid this out Dianne. And as for going to bed early, it is the yummiest, cosiest feeling to go to bed at a time that’s so much in harmony with our bodies that we don’t fight ourselves. Instead of feeling groggy and tired and hitting the pillow in a heap, you get to feel and thoroughly enjoy the real YOU snuggled up to surrender into the magic healing that happens during deep and restful sleep.

  162. How much effort do we put in, working against the natural rhythm of the body. It doesn’t seem to make sense. Love that you have connect the living experience with the science.

  164. Listening to the body’s natural signals telling us it’s tired, time for bed, following through with it, and then noticing how much better we feel from listening to the body, is all the proof you need. It’s living proof!

  165. It’s great to know that the benefits of going to bed early are scientifically proven. I love the way in which you explain the scientific facts in a very accessible way, for all people to understand. It is an individual choice for each one of us, to do our own research through our bodies. I’ve done it and I can say that the benefits are immeasurable. It has been as simple as listening to my body, by harmonising it with cycles. Following cosmic order we can find our own order …and health consequently.

  166. Dianne, I love the simplicity and geekiness of this blog, it explains clearly the science behind early to bed, but most importantly it highlights that we can reach these same conclusions ourselves by listening to our bodies, and honouring their natural rhythms. I love that we’re built like that, in tune with the Universe and its cycles – it’s magic.

  167. This is super inspiring in terms of the way that sleep as a science is brought back to a Livingness in our bodies. I loved the analogy of the office filing system – makes total sense and yet absolute science at the same time!

  168. Dianne I agree that going to bed around 9 o’clock or earlier makes a huge difference in my life and has done for many years. If by chance I go to bed later I really feel it the next day and my sleep has been disturbed that night also in some way.

  169. We as humanity are sleeping on the job when it comes to caring and nurturing ourselves. We try to make it up for ‘dozing off’ with putting extra hours in at the end of the day. But as you show Dianne, in such beautiful detail this way of being just doesn’t work – but leaves us living like the walking dead. Instead of acting ‘after the horse has bolted’ going to bed early is like putting all the pieces in place to have a great and productive day.

  170. I love hearing about the Hippocampus , not just because it is such a wonderful name, reminding me of a university for pachyderms, but because this organ is so sensitive, and so pertinent to our ever growing evolution as highly aware beings.

    1. Yep, agree — reading this article I’m fascinated and in awe at all the amazing devoted servants we have to support us in functioning to our very best. The way science is taught today, we very quickly tend to remove ourselves from the true wonder and awe that is right before us, and as a result we remove ourselves from ourselves. We then disregard our body and all these amazing organs that would otherwise nourish us deeply, and we then wonder why we get stressed, sick and stuck in wishing we could escape from life.

  171. Dianne, I love the fact that what you have shared about scientists discovering what is needed for true sleep rhythms is already known by the body, but how often do we allow our mind to override the message of tiredness from the body and we continue to stay up. That certainly doesn’t make sense, but what does makes sense is that a body that is not living in a consistent and true sleep rhythm will eventually begin to exhibit signs that something is not right, possibly eventuating in illness and disease. I have come to understand that the quality of my day is determined by the quality of my sleep, which is determined by the quality of my day, so it follows that the quality of my life is my responsibility.

  172. I never would have thought that this simple rhythm would have such an amazing impact on my life. When I was in a course with Serge Benhayon I listened and felt that ok yes maybe you have a point there. So I skeptically started playing with my routine and rhythm to see if this ‘philosophy’ had any truth in it and my goodness I was literally blown away by the significant difference that I felt. It makes so much sense to me now when we follow and are in alliance with the cycles of the moon and the sun it supports our quality of our being.

    1. I have often thought the same Natalie. “How could such simplicity be of any benefit at all to our lives?” I used to ask. Caught in the midst of ‘thinking’ about life instead of simply truly living it it would seem such a question is relevant. Yet when I come back to my body, the answer is always simple and clear

  173. A member of my family never use to believe sleeping early would make a change until he started to try it for himself. He noticed the change in his energy levels, his clarity and moods. The he started to feel lighter and look younger. Nowadays if he has any late nights for work or with family, a day later he is in bed extra early to catch up on sleep. He is able to feel the messages from his own body and make loving choices to honour those feelings.

  174. I have recently had the great honour of witnessing the transformation of a person from deeply depressed to motivated and committed back to life. All through the power of sleep. And this person cannot believe how their life has changed, how their relationships have changed, how their views have changed. Sleep has the been the key because without it they felt lost and without their natural ability to be a part of this life.

    1. How awesome to be witness to this, that regular sleep pattern and routine has a strong relationship to health and mental wellbeing. Starting with the commitment to going to bed at a certain time certainly would bring in order to the body at a cellular and biochemical level, that you would assume would have positive affect on mood and vitality levels. Thanks for sharing.

  175. Dianne, I have always been an early riser – just love getting up at or before dawn and I didn’t realize just how beneficial it was until I tried going to bed late to get on the same cycle as the man I was with at the time, as we had very little quality time together. I tried for a few months to adjust my rhythm by staying up late, but it felt so unnatural to me and I couldn’t sleep in, so I got quite exhausted and sick. Then we tried it the other way round – he started getting up early and eventually he found that, though he always claimed he was a ‘night owl’, he actually enjoyed being an ‘early bird’ and he loved the fact that he had so much space in the morning instead of rushing to work at the last minute feeling groggy from the night’s sleep and he found he had much more energy for the day’s activities. He changed ‘shifts’ quite easily, which gave us time to walk together and enjoy each other’s company while we were both fresh. Going to bed early works wonders.

    1. This is great to hear. I’ve always felt the ‘night owl’ excuse was a little lazy, everyone I’ve known like this it seems to have suited and very few have been willing to try another way…but when they do, it’s simple and they immediately feel the benefits.

  176. ‘The study found an optimum duration of sleep (7 to 9 hours) with both less and more being not so good although nowhere near as strong on effects as going to bed late.’ Haven’t we all experienced that baffled moment and even expressed aloud “I don’t understand – I got so much sleep last night and I still woke up tired” and most of us have heard the term ‘overslept’.

    Serge Benhayon was the first however to make sense of this to me, by simply explaining how we need energy to get to sleep – hence why an over tired baby (and adult!) is difficult to settle down for sleep and also that it takes energy to stay asleep beyond what is needed. Again, I suspect everyone has woken up early feeling fine and decided to go back to sleep, only to wake up more groggy and tired the second time.

  177. We spend at least ¼ of our lives asleep, it is vital for our health and can be more vital to us than food, yet as long as we sleep enough to survive with a little caffeine to get through the day no one questions if we sleep for optimal health or even suggests publicly that there is such a thing. Until I heard Serge and Natalie Benhayon speak about sleep rhythms I was rather ignorant about the health benefits of going to bed early but I knew that if I went to bed early I woke up feeling more refreshed. If we know we feel subpar after going to bed too late, and also know that we feel bright eyed when we wake from an earlier nights’ sleep, I would suggest we do know from our own bodies the truth – regardless of the science. However, I find reading about the science an excellent reminder and reality check and it also leads me to question what is going on at night when we stay up later and if we really are using this time productively or just draining our energy reserves.

  178. Why don’t we leave things till the morning? Why do we think we ‘have to do it now?’ Is it our self-destruct button that we are operating when we know full well that going to bed now (e.g. 9pm) is the one single most important thing we need to do, and that the benefits the next morning will outweigh a few hours delay. We get excited, get drawn in, whether it be TV or social media and we lose our deepest connection to ourselves in the process.

  179. Personally I have always had a problem staying up past 10pm and often fell asleep exhausted in the chair, as deep down I have always known how important a good night’s sleep is to my energy levels and my moods. Equally so getting too much sleep for me has proven even worse, as I feel groggy, always without fail get a headache which will not shift until the afternoon, grumpy and out of sorts. I have come to learn that it is just not worth staying in bed longer than my body wants to, otherwise I have a difficult day and it definitely affects those around me. So no matter how enticing having a lie in may seem, it’s just not worth it.

  180. Since having read your blog here Dianne, I have been listening to my body so much more and going to be when it says I should. In the past the 9pm thing was, now I reflect on it, more of a rule. So there was a part of me that would reluctantly go to bed at around 9pm, but would stretch it out to 10 or 10.30pm, feel the effects the next day, but not really do or change my own pattern. But since reading your blog, I have totally changed that, I willingly go to bed when it is needed.

    1. Reagan very true, whilst I would always ensure I am going to bed by 9pm wherever possible I too can see that what this is really about is listening to my body, if its been an intense day etc.. then perhaps bed at 8pm is what supports me. The key is to listen and respond lovingly rather than simply rely on the facts. This willingness is something I’ll take into my day.

    2. Yes our bodies know best but that’s not what our mind thinks often – it so wants to the rule the roost. I find going to bed quite difficult at times. I fight it like a young kid that wants to stay up! But when I surrender and go, ok love, you’re tired and off to bed, it is much more the loving thing to do.

  181. A weird scientific observation: we think we need X hours of sleep and generally most of us know how much that is, so if we go to bed late and we have a chance to sleep in, we do that. If we go to bed late and have to get up for work the next day we are tired. That makes sense. How can we explain then, that when we go to bed earlier, we wake up what seems to be ridiculously early? I know that my body would appreciate being allowed to sleep at 9pm, but often I stay up late doing social media or watching TV. When I go to be an hour later, I feel the need to sleep an additional two hours the next day, an hour and half late and I need three hours additional sleep, the delay going to bed doubles my sleep in time, so I have less time to get things done in the morning. It makes sense then to go to bed at 9 every night and then I have more time the next morning to do social media, emails, and TV is not required so I can do heaps of other things. Simple science.

    1. Carmel Reid this is so true. I am learning how sleep is the basis of my day, and the more I pay attention to this and give it the space to be the quality that I deserve, the more capable I feel during the day and really very present in my body. This is a science, a living science.

  182. The time I go to bed has a very direct and obvious relationship with the amount of sleep I need to wake up feeling fresh. If I go to bed late I may need 8-9 hours sleep but if I go to bed between 8-9pm I only need 6-7 hours of sleep. It is phenomenal really in a world where we often feel time poor, although when I first started going to bed earlier there was a period of catch-up sleep but I soon found it natural to sleep less and wake early.

    1. Very true Deanne – sometimes we think more sleep will make us less tired but in fact it is not just the sleep but the way we go to sleep and the time we go to sleep that matters. Yes I too find I do not need as much sleep if I am honouring my body, winding down before bedtime and going to bed earlier. Basically, if I treat myself as a delicate child around bedtime, I wake up with just as much energy as a child the next day 🙂

  183. Knowing that our own cycles fit within the bigger picture of the cycles of our planet and universe changes the way we can view sleep as an individual thing. Our sleep or lack of affects not just our day but our interactions, productivity, relationships, sense of flow etc. etc.

    1. This is a lovely point Annie. Calling for greater appreciation of a responsibility to one another. Our sleep, lack of it and in fact the quality of it affects everything we engage in – and this impacts on everyone in our life. It is not just our personal self that we affect with our choices, the ripple effect goes far wider than we choose to be aware of.

  184. When I first started going to bed earlier I had to look at what made it difficult to fall asleep at this new and earlier time. At first it was dietary stimulants like caffeine and sugars, even having a coffee at midday for me, meant being awake still at midnight and beyond. Later I also had to look at how late I was working or other activities I might do in the evening that did not support being able to go to sleep, such as chatting on the phone with friends before bed or being on the computer. As Dianne shares – the science experiment is in our bodies and with a little honesty we can figure out the practicalities of what works for us and what doesn’t.

    1. I feel deep down most of us know what we need to do to refine our sleep but can ignore/play down this knowing to suit us as making these changes may mean letting go of certain things we are using as vices to get through life whether that’s having caffeine, watching TV, working too much, or being on our phones etc.

      1. I agree Annie, we do know, it can be as simple as sharing with a colleague ‘I am tired today as I stayed up to watch the end of a movie’. We know that a late night makes it harder to get up the next day and can make the whole day harder to ‘get through’. When we live the day to ‘get through’ it can be much harder to settle in the evening and this is when we look to our vices, as you mention Annie, for fulfillment.

      2. This is true, Annie. I know that I need to be in bed by 9 all prepared and ready to turn the light out but I override that much earlier in the day by what I’ve been eating and one bad decision leads to another, and then it’s TV or Social Media and so I end up going to bed at 10.30 and needing to sleep in more the next morning. What I need to let go of is the short term reward (nice taste, numb feeling) that has longer term consequences (exhaustion).

      3. Annie this is a great call. There are many ways to distract ourselves from truly resting and often when we ignore the call we can feel the consequences immediately.

  185. Dianne, this is an important blog for so many reasons, thank you. So so many people today go to bed late, including children, and our culture today, despite the roaring coffee trade to kick start the day and sugary foods for children, we still want the science, the evidence and proof that going to bed early makes a difference. This is despite knowing from our own experience that we wake up tired when we go to bed too late.

  186. This is an excellent analogy Dianne about how the way we live can catch up with us when we receive a medical diagnosis ‘like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!’

  187. Completing our day by resting our head down on the pillow and laying ourselves down to deeply rest is such a beautiful time to just be with ourselves, totally appreciating ourselves and all those in our lives, along with all that we brought to the day.

  188. The last few days I have been caught up working late and therefore by the time I come home, prepare for bed it has just gone 9pm. Going to bed this late has made me feel so tired in the morning that I have not been able to get up at my usual time, my alarm clock would wake me up and I would reset it to go back to bed for another hour, and I feel tired for the rest of the day. For my body I have noticed I need to be in bed asleep by 8pm the latest, for my body to be rested properly and naturally wake up without feeling tired the next morning at my usual time.

  190. I like your writing style Dianne, you have the ability to bridge science with common sense and practicality, and this is also what The Ageless Wisdom is about.

  191. This makes so much sense and thank you Dianne for making it easy to understand the science behind our sleep patterns and well-being. For me going to bed early has always been an easy choice as I have always struggled to stay up later than 9.30pm at best, and once I got the belief that I was missing something (usually a TV show) out of the way, it became so much easier.

  192. Having read this blog, it has truly changed the way I viewed going to sleep. As much as I had thought I had not made the 9pm thing a rule, I could feel within myself that it actually did. ie. that it wasn’t coming from a truth within myself, it was something I just did. As opposed to now, that I understand more deeply what is going on physically, physiologically and energetically, I willingly want to jump in bed before 9pm, I lovingly want to honour the process my body naturally undergoes from going to sleep from 9pm. I have truly felt the difference also.

  193. Sleep is so vital as a foundation for all our functioning and well being, yet few people realise the importance of what you have presented here Dianne. I know many people feel that they are missing out if they go to bed early yet don’t realise how much this is exactly what is required by their bodies. The more people talk about this topic, the better, because it is sorely needed in our world.

  195. This is something that needs to be taught to us as babies and then sustained through our life because I have come to realise that it is a basic science that our bodies and our being function and operate at a 100% capacity. It feels INCREDIBLE when you look after yourself in this simply yet powerful way.

  196. When sleep started to become a priority in my life, it was at a time when all other factors were coming crashing down around me and I had no choice but to look at how I was putting myself to bed, and, by this simple discovery, my life has changed exponentially, and I could not have ever imagined the level of vitality that I now live everyday, due in part to a change in sleep patterns.

    1. Same for me Shami and worth a repeat; I too could not have ever imagined the level of vitality that I now live everyday, I wake in the wee hours every morning without an alarm and can do between 3 or 4 hours work on the computer before going to work, which is due in part going to bed early at around 8pm.

  197. Discussing this morning, after waking at 4am, whether there is actually any truth to the idea there are the ‘morning people’ and the ‘night owls’, we came to the conclusions that we teach ourselves to be one or the other. Once the cycle gets going, where it’s late to bed, late to rise, because the body is never fully being cleared, so to speak, the body always feels awful on waking, and so to stop the awful feeling, that person goes back to sleep, to make it all go away. And so the cycle continues, late to bed again, minimal clearing taking place and sleeping in again. I would say based on my own feelings of eating well and sleeping well, loving waking up in the wee hours of the morning is a natural rhythm for me, most likely for everybody too.

  198. I love doing my filing. It feels so freeing being so organised, no doubt my body feels the same after a regenerating and cleansing sleep during the ‘filing’ hours. Thanks Dianne for making the concept of going to bed early so clearly beneficial, both from a scientific point of view and from a lived experience standpoint.

  199. Our bodies have a very natural rhythm we can listen to. Going to bed early has been one of the greatest supports I have ever incorporated for my body – being a previous night owl! This along with other changes, including honouring my evening wind down rhythm has helped me heal much exhaustion built up over the years. I would recommend it to anyone.

  200. It is quite incredible what a difference going to bed earlier and the way in which we put ourselves to bed can make – it can change our whole life.

  201. What I have been finding if I go to bed later than 8pm, I am finding I am needing more sleep until 5am, my body wakes me up by 3am but I am feeling tired. If I am in bed by 7.30pm to 8pm, my body wakes me up by 3am and I am feeling refreshed. I am feeling the earlier I am in bed my body seems to have a more complete and restful sleep, the quality is deeper and then I do not need as much sleep. The later I go to bed, then my body needs more sleep to catchup as, the quality is not so deep.

  202. A brilliant question with a simple yet powerful answer.
    Your blog Dianne is so informative, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
    I now feel inspired to deepen and refine my preparation and routine before bed; to be more consistent and self nurturing, another marker!

  203. Unfortunately despite many scientific findings, we can still override our body’s signals and live in a way that is detrimental to our own internal harmony. When that is the case, experimenting with changing behaviours can produce such favourable results that it eventually becomes a ‘no-brainer’ and the change becomes a permanent one.

  204. Thank you for this useful article Dianne. I am sure that by listening to our body we will feel to go to bed early in the evening. However, for those who find listening to their body more difficult, a scientific explanation of the benefits of going to bed at 8 may inspire them to go to bed earlier, a practice which will ultimately support them to be more able to listen to their body.

  205. Thank you very much Dianne for your wonderful blog about the sleep process. I have been slipping a bit lately and not getting to bed by 9pm, but, thanks to you I’ll be back on track from now on – maybe even earlier than 9.

  206. Connecting with your blog again Dianne, I have taken in more of what you share about going to bed by 9pm. Which I do my best to do, with the odd time that this doesn’t work. I see how finely tuned and connected our whole body is, and the need for us to all be grateful for this and the information we have been blessed with from yourself and Serge Benhayon’s Ancient Wisdom. Thank you again Dianne for putting it all together for us!

  207. This is a perfect example Brendan of how our bodies naturally respond to nature’s rhythms. The distractions we choose to ignore these rhythms causes our exhaustion and I have in the past justified these to the point of developing beliefs about being a ‘night person’ and ‘morning person’. To choose these beliefs means I was totally out of touch with what your camping experiences (and mind) naturally reveal.

  208. What I find enormously interesting, is how I, we, can deliberately sabotage our night’s sleep by choosing to stay up too late, thus affecting the following day with a deliberate intention to do so. And by this, holding ourselves back from feeling full, buoyant, and vital. Perhaps because then we would have the responsibility of being an aware being on this earth, which means saying what needs to be said at the time it needs saying.

  209. How I am before I prepare myself for sleep in the last hours of the evening also has an impact on what time I can get to bed, and how I am in the evening is impacted on how I have been during the day. I have often felt that when I ignore the signals from the body that come through loud and clear, I am whacked the next day.

    1. Nic the way we go to bed is a huge one.. I know when I used to work late in the hospitality industry and get home late but would still be ‘wired’ after the busy night and having a drink I would always wake feeling rubbish. Now I work on the occasional late night still in hospitality and even though I go to bed late the way in which I go makes a huge difference. So even though I can feel the difference from not going to be earlier (my preferred time) I still feel steady and with myself. Where as before I would be totally out and exhausted. Not drinking alcohol and still winding down at the end of the night makes a huge difference.

      1. Great to hear that you can work in such a demanding and dynamic industry doing late nights and still get a nurturing night’s sleep without needing stimulants or sedatives. Hospitality is an industry fraught with drug issues because of the tolls of the work environment.

  210. Thank you Dianne Trussell for writing this piece on sleep. Our nightly sleep is so important and what you share is not as widely accepted as it should be. My body clearly does much better since I adhere to this rhythm of early to bed for many years now. In my younger years I had pushed the envelope and burnt the candle on both ends so to speak; as I always was a natural early morning person; who would want to miss the amazing early morning hours?? But I chose to stay up late. This pattern has created hormonal imbalances in my body, which I need to now manage with medication. We can push our bodies, choose to ignore the natural rhythm and the body’s messages, but the bill will eventually and inevitably come. It’s also so beautiful to be aware how much we are linked to the global and universal cycles, and how awesome it is to surrender to those cycles and going with the natural flow, instead of fighting it.

  211. I was required to be at an AGM meeting last night which ran quite late and I got to bed much later than normal. I can feel the difference in my body this morning, but I am aware that I still have a choice to go about my day with gentleness and presence, and that this is super important on a day like today.

  212. “listening and knowing does not require scientific education or years of research to access; anyone is capable of accessing it.” I love this statement Dianne and what you share about the science backing up the evidence from your own body is repeated in my body. I have been travelling through so many time zones recently, but if I keep my rhythm and keep my food light then the time zones don’t matter. Your blog has been a great support.

  213. Pardon the pun, but a supremely large wake-up call about what lies behind sleep patterns, cycles and brain processes. The choice is now ours – to heed the workings of this most natural of activities to optimise our vitality, or to continue to disregard it and pay the consequences.

  215. This was amazing to read Dianne, love how so simplistically you have explained how the brain and our body experiences going to bed late, along with the fantastic analogy of us doing the office filing. I have always held beliefs that if you went to bed later and woke up later, that you equalised out the night in some way. So it has been very educational and provided the opportunity to take a greater level of responsibility for my own health and wellbeing.

  217. How I prepare for bed continues to show me so much about how I am constantly determining how I feel through my choices. Just this week I have been experimenting with this time of the day a little more. My mind could easily dismiss the choices as insignificant but my body has shown me a resounding yes. When I continue the choices consistently over a week, 2 weeks, my body reveals even more. The more commitment I bring, the more I am shown. I love how our body works like that.

    1. Vicky same here, a seemingly minute choice has wide ranging ripple effects. That same choice repeated can change everything. When it comes to preparing for bed and sleeping I’ve certainly noticed a big difference in honouring when I feel to sleep and the vitality that comes when I rise early the following morning.

      1. David, I also find it fascinating the thoughts and ideas that can come in as we prepare for bed. I am noticing lately that there can be a thought to do one more thing, but doing that can stimulate my nervous system and affect my sleep. I am learning how important it is to discern if the thought is to support me or to affect my rhythm.

      2. I’ve found that there is a point when my nervous system turns on if I don’t honour the time to sleep. It is very distinctive, one minute I’m fine, then suddenly i’m twitchy and uncomfortable. There is always a signal before this happens, like the traffic lights turn amber before turning red.

  218. I really notice now when I go to bed late how this effects me the next day. I recently saw on a tv programme how a school in the UK changed the time of school to start later in the day and going through to early evening because they were saying it is not natural for young people to get up early! Maybe we should be looking at this the other way in saying it is not natural to go to bed late!

    1. How interesting that an educational institution would consider it not natural to get up early when all the evidence points to the fact that the exact opposite is true. I wonder who is doing their research!

  219. When you say “the amount of sleep required may vary depending on the individual person’s life and what their body truly needs which will be influenced by how they have been living” it reminds me of how much less sleep we need when we stop eating food that makes the body heavy and tired and takes all night or sometimes longer to clear out of the system.

    1. Good point Gabriele, some foods and drinks very much interfere with our body’s ability to get a restful sleep. Changing my food and drink habits has had a huge impact on healing my chronic fatigue many years ago, along with choosing to go to bed early. I also noticed that sometimes rest and sleep are a more important priority for the body than food. When I’m really tired on a specific night, and I choose to go to bed, instead of forcing myself to get dinner ready, I feel more rejuvenated in the morning, compared to the time I insist on making and eating dinner, and I drag my tiredness into the next day.

  220. what I have discovered through my own sleeping pattern is that in the past I would override tiredness – but these days as I honour my body, it naturally knows when to sleep and when to wind down based on how I am living. It is a day to day communication with my body based on how I have been living. What I also notice is that to rest is to allow myself to deeply stop and appreciate how I have lived that day. Then when I wake up and am ready for the actions of the day, I am lovingly prepared for this. It shows that sleep and being awake is one big cycle that works together – and to use sleep to fix exhaustion is to not pay attention to the exhaustion in the first place.

    1. So true, hvmorden, if we honour our bodies and the way we have been with them during the day, we naturally clear the stuff which we have taken on during the day so the body has not to clear this during the night.

    2. I’ve never been able to successfully over-ride my feeling of needing to sleep. On the occasions when I did, I felt awful very soon, and continued to feel awful all night and next day. Oddly, I feel ‘dirty’ when I go to sleep later than my body wants. It’s a bit hard to explain it any other way. Regarding exhaustion, it’s SO hard to get to sleep when I’m exhausted that I realized that going to sleep is an active process that requires some energy. And if you have no energy, it’s very hard to sleep. Vicious cycle, with a simple answer: go to bed early!

      1. Absolutely Dianne – there is a profound need for sleep cycle education in schools and universities, so children don’t feel they need to stay up late to be cool or get assignments done. I found during my teens I would consider staying up late a treat – but really this starts the pattern of abusing a natural bodily cycle that is there to support us and give us all the energy we need.

      2. Such a great point Dianne T – I have felt that very literal ‘exhaustion’ after pushing too hard and laying down to finally end the day with sleep – it doesn’t happen – the sleep that follows is restless and not truly rebuilding and the cycle begins again.

      3. One has really to imagine that we have the best sleep when we are not so tired. This does not make sense to many people but it is fact. As you pointed out, the process for preparing for bed takes a bit of energy and if exhausted, it is strenuous even to head to bed.

      4. This is a great point and something many will never have considered – that we need energy to sleep. I remember operating in the past with the attitude that I could use all of my banks up and then crash into bed and somehow I expected my body to be recharged and replenished ready for the next onslaught of how I was living it the next day. The accumulative effect of such an ill- rhythm let’s itself known to us however we can just as quickly turn to more stimulation to not have to address the cycle and continue to cane the body and override its fatigue.

    3. I love what you have shared here and very inspiring to read. I know for me really honouring my body has been something that has been a challenge. I had ignored it for such a long time, that I would still override when I was tired and not go to bed for a long time, I would either want to keep doing what I was doing in the home, or watch a program on tv, not wanting to honour myself. Not deliberately, actually sometimes deliberately, I would know when tired, but just not want to make the time for myself. Sounds so silly when I write it here now, but the stubbornness would kick in. This is different now, I am much more aware of this ingrained behaviour. It does creep in from time to time, but reading this blog and peoples comments has been really amazing!!

  221. Thanks for confirming scientifically what my body has always told me when I was a child- the benefits of going to bed early.

  222. This science is one that I know is true as I have put it to practice for several years now and I feel incredible having this as my rhythm. Sometimes I work late in the evening for work and that is fine, I don’t go into any panic or reaction of this I simply keep to my wind down rhythm go to sleep when I can. The next morning I am no where near as clear, alert and alive as I am when it is the early to bed and early to rise.

    1. Natalie I have the same experience as you when i have to work late, but like you i continue to follow my rhythm and not go into panic, i will try have an earlier night to catch up soon after. I too can say i am not as alert or clear the next morning if i have had a later night.

    2. This is true Natalie, clarity and rejuvenation is quickly lost to fog and sluggishness in its place. One wonders then at the quality of school and University students who study well into the night and the dire accumulative effects of such a rhythm on one’s body and life – let alone the added effects of the stimulants we then turn to to keep a basic level of functioning to keep the whole show rolling.

  223. Science like this is a great confirmation of how I feel when living an early sleep and rise rhythm.

  224. A master piece Dianne and a good reminder every time I read it! We so easily forget what truly benefits us. And for sure the rhythm of going early to bed is one of the key points in our vitality and health. Once you check it out and test it, you cannot deny. We have precise cycles in nature and we human beings belong to them as we are a part of them. And our body naturally adheres to them. We can force it differently but have to bear the consequences ignorantly.

    1. I agree Sonja, the cycles in nature reflect our sense for our natural cycles within. If we honour this we support our body with natural medicine which leads to more energy and health.

    2. I agree Sonja. We are part of all cycles and it’s more than just about day/night, the seasons, the years that go by. It’s about always coming back to the starting point, which in itself is a great symbol for the reason why we are all here. To go back to the truth of all of us.

    3. I totally agree Sonja – how is it that we can so easily ignore the cycles of nature around us, and feel that they don’t apply to us? Could it be because we have separated so far from our natural rhythms we don’t feel that they apply to us? Supporting ourselves with a day/night cycle is so important, as it is what our bodies need. I would love to see what the world would look like (health wise) if we all for one month went to bed early. That could be a fun trial!

      1. I love that Amelia, a worldwide experiment of ‘going to bed early’. Doing that we could even realise that we are all the same and that it doesn’t make sense to have borders and to fight each other about those borders……..the consequences could be enormous – unifying – and fun!

      2. Great point that we separated far from our natural rhythms. We almost forgot we are part of them. What Esther suggests would be a great experiment: all going to bed early. Just by this so-called simple fact it will dis-close all the ill-patterns in society immediately, as they are put to a stillstand. Furthermore, it will re-connect us to the natural rhythms alltogether. A sense of union and brotherhood can re-emerge, just by something so simple as going to bed early, all of us.

      3. I would love to see that too Amelia. People would be totally amazed by how different they would feel. Then we could start socializing early in the morning and learn to really connect to one another without any distractions.

    4. I agree Sonja that there is a higher order to which our bodies respond and are governed. Defying our body is to deliberately seek to defy the natural flow and rhythm of life – this is bound to have ramifications for us.

      1. So true Deborah, I have often felt that when I ignore the signals from the body that come through loud and clear, I am whacked the next day.

      2. I am also noticing the smallest override – not acting on what i have felt immediately leads to a very swift correction, alerting me to return to the Love and truth on offer in every moment. It is tiring going into override rather than flowing with our natural cycle.

      3. Ramifications indeed Deborah. It seems so simple a concept, listen to your body. The reality is that we are so used to just overriding what it is saying. We have been sold a lie with stereotypes through Hollywood and advertising that staying up late and a long sleep in is what we should be aspiring to. This is so far from the truth and what our bodies truly crave – love and care.

    6. Well said Sonja Ebbinghaus! Our body already naturally adheres to those cycles and rhythms; it’s just our heads that can get in the way, ‘thinking’…. I need to do this or need to do that, rather than surrender to what the body clearly shows us.

    7. Absolutely Sonja. We are so attuned to natures cycles that our bodies love to follow them and they respond so lovingly when we do. But when we override these natrual cycles and make our bodies work against them, then we have to pay the price which can often be in the form of a physical illness or disease.

    1. Once we feel it’s time to rest there is no longer a need to look at the clock as the body will remind us the day is done and it’s time to reboot. The vitality that waits us the following morning is shown by the support we have put ourselves to bed with.

  226. I like to be asleep by 9pm, and give my self a wind down time of at least half an hour, but after reading Dianne’s article I shall definitely be heading up those stairs earlier. 8 oclock feels snuggly warm sleep time, just thinking about it makes me want to hug myself.

      1. We love to be in bed sometimes even earlier! Again, if you can follow the signals your body gives you, not eating anything that gives you that little pick me up or second wind, then it is very clear exactly when sleep needs to begin for me.

    2. My body can really tell the difference if I head to bed st 8pm or 9pm. My body loves 8pm, I can wake so refreshed the next day and completely rested. If I go towards 9pm, I can feel the tiredness in my body, how one hour can make so much difference.

    4. I like what you say catherine bower and will endeavour to do the same. It does feel very lovely and supportive.

    5. I try to not do anything mentally stimulating after 6pm – no emails, internet or that sort of thing. I like to just do the physical tasks that require doing as I prepare myself for bed. I find this gives me a nice way to unwind and slow down as I prepare for bed.

  227. We do it as kids – early to bed, early to rise. Why change this pattern as an adult? I have found that reverting back to the sleep patterns that I had as a child works wonders. The earlier I go to bed the less sleep I need and the better I feel the next day. I no longer trade going to bed early for anything or anyone because I value too much how great I feel by going to bed early.

    1. That’s great Donna, as children we were more in tune with our bodies, and that is not a good thing to trade for a late night.

      1. As kids we get sold the image that staying up was something cool so we begged to stay up ‘just one hour more’. Even the whole social scene is based around everything being ‘lively’ ‘social’ and ‘exciting’ only happening at night. Never mind that LOADS of stimulants are required to maintain that ‘party scene’ – it’s totally unnatural. After four years of trading late nights for waking up feeling brighter and more stable and supported for the day ahead is totally worth it. Far greater than any image of being connected and social with others on a level of intoxication and stimulation.

      3. I remember that when I was a child, gone 7pm, I knew it was time for my body to rest and no matter where I was I would fall asleep. I never wanted to stay up when I was tired. It only changed when I started to go to high school.

    3. As kids we do as our parents tell us. I find wondrous how as adults we want the best for our kids but don’t choose the same for ourselves. We buy into the illusion that staying up late makes our lives more interested, while as you say Donna we feel so much better if we go to bed early. Feeling great is somehow less appealing than indulging in the late night distractions of life like watching TV, going to the pub etc. The question is why?

    4. I have that same experience. No need for stimulants to keep me started or going, just going to bed early. The other advantage of going to bed early is that it keeps us from stuffing ourselves with too much food or beverages all night.

    5. I love this Donna. I have always preferred early to bed. Even as a teenager and into my early twenties when I was staying up way too late I could not sleep in. I have also found that the quality of sleep I get in the early evening, going to bed at 8 or 9pm is so much greater than if I don’t get to bed until 11pm.

    6. It is quite amazing that parents know that their children need to go to bed early and get enough sleep, because if they don’t, they behave like pork chops! Why wouldn’t it be the same for adults? Perhaps we really have a whole world of ‘porkchops’ walking around, we just don’t feel it, because it’s being over-ridden by sugary foods and caffeine.

  228. I know I ‘should’ be going to bed earlier than I currently do. However I question it because I am wondering if it is really true or is it an ideal I would I would like to live. I know that if I did go to bed earlier my day would be more productive.

  229. I have found it an enormous support to regularly go to bed early. It takes a while but once it becomes a regular occurrence you start to wake up feeling zingy and looking forward to the day, as opposed to lying there feeling exhausted and thinking another few minutes sleep. Yet that sleep does not address the exhaustion and by the next night, like a young child in nervous energy, it is hard to go to sleep early again. Breaking this pattern, as Diane has scientifically confirmed, is life changing.

  230. Our bodies show unwaveringly where we are at, what choices we make. Our body is a living intelligence which is part of the Universal All or so to speak of God. Each and every one of us will have had this moment of realization in his or her life. Let it be when looked in the stars, see the sundown, or be in the presence of nature’s magic. Or just in the look of someone’s eyes.

  231. It is just so beautiful to feel how our bodies love us so much, like the hippocampus sorting the things out that happened in the day to get us ready for a new day, even though we might make the same mess everyday it keeps doing its thing. Just amazing to feel that commitment and inspiring too! A true reflection for me that if I do something that I know is true and beneficial for all it is worth committing to it, even if at times it may feel useless in the end it will stand.

    1. Yes Lieke it is a beautiful process. My poor hippo was struggling last night, I could feel it trying to sort yesterday’s events out and that fact that there was a little bit too much for it to process because I didn’t allow enough time to unwind before I went to bed.

    2. Lieke the reflection of the wisdom and innate knowing of the body always amazes me, it is hard to comprehend in the mind just how incredible the body is and the constant support it brings us to stay connected to truth.

      1. Yes I agree with you David, the body is amazing and very wise and therefore to be wise ourselves is to listen to it and honour its messages.

    3. And to me that is what love is, Leike: always holding someone as new in our heart regardless of where they have been. Of course, this does not absolve us from responsibility, and when we mistreat our body we get to feel the results of that firsthand, but our bodies do not judge us for what we do, they do not hold themselves back, it is us who hold ourselves back and judge ourselves for our choices.

      1. Yes that is so true Naren. Love does not judge but holds and exposes all that is not love with its absoluteness and purity. Love does for sure feel like a big warm hug to me always holding me.

  232. “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try).” This is a great reminder of just where we are all at in the universe, and what our bodies are actually a part of. We are far more than this fleshy little body sitting on a ball of rock spinning around a star hurtling through space. There is a precision, a harmony to the flow of the cycles and movements of the planet which we are an inescapable part of.

    1. Well said Naren and Dianne. There is a divine order to the universe and the cycle of sleep and awake are part of that divine order. It is there to support us to know who we truly are and to live as part of that divine order.

  233. If going to bed early can change my life as I am sure it can and has, then what other small lifestyle changes can be made that also provide the opportunity to improve my health outcomes, might it be time to consider the benefits of moving with tenderness, wearing warm enough clothes all the time, not stepping outside with wet hair, how I express to people for both them and me, looking honestly at my life, decluttering my home and my mind, not having to be protective around people, trusting others and letting people in…. and on and on.

  234. Watching TV has always been the ultimate best devised checking out tool man has invented. As man can never leave anything alone and must improve everything, how annoying is it to have to get up to change the channel! Now the world of numbness is ours with just a click of a button. Going to bed early has been helped by our old friend the TV! There is nothing but rubbish of every description on it! The medium has its value but has lost its way. The best entertainment is still a good nights sleep. It creates so much more space in our life.

  235. I love ‘early to bed’. It gives me the support to deal with anything throughout my day. Without this support life becomes harder. It is worth giving this to myself.

  236. Absolutely Diane, “the truth is already accessible from our own bodies”. It is plain and simple, going early to bed and getting up early as a consistent habit builds over time to feel fantastic. I have tried to convince myself you can feel just as vital and well going to bed later, but it is only pretence – once in a while yes, but no way can that peak vitality be sustained if it becomes a habit.

    1. I agree Simon – I have found that if I am to have a night when I go to bed slightly later then I am supported by the foundation of rest from honouring the time my body natural wants to unwind and rest as part of my regular routine.

    2. Agree Simon, once we create a a consistent habit of going to bed early and experience the vitality of that, it is very hard to have a late night, from my experience I feel so awful the next day and have to take a few days to recover. It really is not worth that late night to interrupt my rhythum of vitality.

  237. You cannot feel fresh, sexy or even beautiful if you are tired.
    You cannot feel joyful, open and connected if you are tired. You cannot truly enjoy your day if you are tired.
    You cannot truly enjoy being in your body if you are tired.
    So it makes sense to say….
    ‘Go to bed early! It can change your life.’ 🙂 🙂

    1. Absolutely Kathrynfortuna, I love the simplicity in what you are sharing, in simplicity the greatest most amazing truths are found.

  238. It is also great to read the scientific background to how sleep impacts on our overall health. I do not feel I require it to convince me to go to bed earlier, I already feel the benefit for making that choice, but I do love bodies and how they work and I found this article insightful.

  239. There is something that I have been learning over the last few years, how to prepare myself, for the night, day, week, year, life ahead…”Among those consequences of repeatedly going to sleep after 9 pm are a measurable (9%) shrinkage of the good ol’ buddy hippocampus, a degree of shrinkage associated with depression.” I have spent much of my life not planning or preparing myself for anything and I can feel the difference in my body to learn to prepare. I feel great, no doubt, preparing myself by considering my sleep, my food intake, how I respond if I feel a stress or tension come up has absolutely transformed my life. We can support ourselves to not live with depression, other mental health and physical health issues if we make a choice to learn to care for ourselves.

  240. It’s really interesting speaking to different friends about their sleeping patterns. There is definitely the sense of missing out on the day if you go to bed early. The fact they’ve been working all day and don’t have their time – yet they rush through in the mornings. What I’ve come to find is there is more than enough time in the day, and the time I enjoy most is the morning before the rest of the day starts. It allows me to have a quality of time with myself – take care and nurture me with writing, work, exercise, cooking so I feel fully prepared. By the time the evening comes I can then start to wind down for bed without needing to fit everything in late into the night. It’s a marked difference between when I was going to be late, waking up late and always feeling tired and not enough time. Now understanding the science it makes sense.

  241. This was very confirming to read. Just the other day I was having this very conversation with a friend at work that going to bed a midnight and getting 8 hours sleep is not the same as going to bed early and rising early.

  242. Great article Dianne, I’ve been going to bed early now for 9 years and although I always felt better for it, in the beginning it felt like I was missing out on something – usually some TV show or the light nights in the summer. Now I wouldn’t go back to my staying up late nights watching the TV, as it is easy to record anything of interest, which incidentally I have discovered the interest in the telly has waned also. I have received so much more benefits health wise from going to bed early and would recommend it to others who are feeling exhausted, depressed or general lack of interest in work or life.

    1. I can relate to this Julie, I too used to feel like I was missing out, ’cause let’s face it the rest of the world is working hard / playing hard. However, now I enjoy introducing others to an early supper, meeting my friends for breakfast and using my day in a totally different light. It’s a joy to be up early and appreciating the sunrise.

  243. What a SUPER post Dianne, your para here is so true: “It’s also important to note that the amount of sleep required may vary depending on the individual person’s life and what their body truly needs which will be influenced by how they have been living ‘ – the key being – the way we live life, as i certainly know from experience that living life with care and respect to the body, means it feels upon waking and throughout the day completely different after a period of sleep in going to bed ‘early’ by 9pm…and that i need less sleep now, and more refreshed and vitalised than when i lived a life in disregard to my body in how i treated it. Treat our body well, and work with its naturalness means it can support us in so many ways.

  244. Thanks for the scientific data Dianne, it is great to share with others. I love going to bed early, everything about my body indicates this is a very profound truth which support harmony, stillness and energy levels. It also supports rising early and the clarity and stillness the early morning brings – life is so rich in all this offers and all that is needed is the choice and commitment to follow through.

  245. When I started to introduce going to bed earlier and waking up earlier I could not deny how much more alive and alert I felt for the whole day. When you feel this good and it supports you through your day it makes complete sense to me to live this. Just one of the best things I have chosen since being inspired by Serge Benhayon.

  246. I definitely feel better when I go to bed around 9 rather than later in the evening. Interesting to hear the science behind it, thanks Dianne.

  247. “This is all pretty cool. But you know what’s even cooler? It’s that, although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen”. Love this Dianne. I used to want statistics to prove things before I would embrace them. As I have come to un-numb and listen to my body, I am finding things that are not good for me and having paid attention and made different choices, my body thanks me for it. I’m learning this is a continual refining process.

  248. I’m not someone who needs or wishes scientific research to validate how I feel in my body, yet I know and respect that many people wish to see the data that presents one case or another. In this instance what I find is most supportive is the ease with which you have presented a subject that I know will have been written elsewhere in much less digestible language. Perhaps that is one aspect of science that could transform our interest levels, if the way something is presented considers the all and is not an intellectual exercise. Science should after all be all encompassing, something that Dianne has achieved here and which offers a great amount to digest and consider. Early to bed I say, and let the brain process the information, it makes a lot of sense and is a healthy lifestyle medicine within the reach of everyone.

  249. This is great scientific proof for what our ancestors knew very well, and also what we know if we just stop to feel our bodies. Then we can recognise what is happening when we drive ourselves to override them for the sake of comfort, entertainment, and even work “that needs to be done”. Wisdom is ageless, we just keep ignoring it in order to fit in with everyone else, and so everyone starts moving in the wrong direction. The discovery of electricity didn’t help!

  250. I agree, learn to observe the body and how it responds, it can be our own measure and scientific research “This is all pretty cool. But you know what’s even cooler? It’s that, although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen.” So often research has a bias and agenda and so the findings may not be as objective as we would like. Here there is no question, our bodies holds the truth of our actions and choices.

    1. I agree research has a bias agenda and the findings may not be as objective, However our bodies hold the truth of every choice and action we take, giving it a go ourselves is the best research.

  251. The science of going to bed early is a beautiful confirmation of living this way of life and all it offers us. It is life changing and really does make a difference. I especially see with people and friends who are convinced they are night birds and always have been and justify their way that they miss out on the vitality and spontaneity of life, the joy of the early morning stillness and the cosy enjoyment of getting into bed lovingly with themselves gently and with an honouring of what is truly nurturing and beneficial for their health and harmony inside.

  252. Yes indeed going to bed can change your life. It is that simple. I shared with a friend the other day about the importance of going to bed early and how supportive it is. She decided to give it try it and was amazed at how different she felt and how much more vitality she had throughout her day as a result of going to bed early. It came as a surprise to her that something so simple as going to bed early could make such a huge difference to her life.

  253. Thank you Dianne for scientifically backing up what my body has always known- that going to bed early leads to a healthier and more vital body.

  254. The importance of sleep is not given enough credence in todays world and the true impact it has on our emotional and psychological wellbeing is hugely underestimated. Simply from a relationship perspective, my husband and I used to engage in convoluted, reactive discussions before bed which would often lead to disagreements and further complication. Naturally this would impact our sleep, our ability to read situations and appreciate one another. By turning this on its head, going to bed early, not engaging in big discussions before bed but supporting each other to wind down, we would then wake early feeling clear and hence able to have conversations that would take half the time and be infinitely more clear and straightforward.

    1. How simply wise and practical Lucindag. I love reading how you support each other to wind down. We can turn many things on their head if we are open to the possibilities and doing things differently.

    2. It makes me wonder how other marriages would fare if our whole social life was altered so that going to bed at 9 was normal instead of that being the time for going out to the pub.

    3. Lucindag what an awesome example of the clarity difference we have in the morning rather than just before bed at night.
      At night our bodies want to wind down and let go of the day, When we push we create complication.
      In the morning our bodies are fresh and ready to address whatever is needed. Keeping life simple and clear.

  255. I love how going to be early can be a science, with detailed biological facts that we can study. This makes me want to explore what else there is that we do each day, in simple everyday living, that has a deeply biological influence. And, if all our systems are connected, including the ones with nature, then how must the choices that we make be affecting the world around us?

    1. That’s a good one Shami! ‘if all our systems are connected, including the ones with nature, then how must the choices that we make be affecting the world around us’? Maybe science will prove that we really are one?

  256. This is the true science of early to bed early to rise exposed here Dianne, thank you, I love how you write and the simplicity of it all. It is supportive and loving and the true way to go be and the real medicine of living and true health.

  257. I am becoming aware how much I’ve chosen and still choose at some level to sabotage my sleeping rhythm by going to bed just a little late or going to bed feeling exhausted and don’t taking time to re-connect to me before going to sleep. Both lead to a sleep that guarantees me not waking up vital and full of life. Where as when I do take the time to reconnect to myself, I feel so different when I wake up. Let alone if I also go to bed early (before 9.00 pm).

  258. Going to bed early supports such a great rhythm to my day. My body expresses its love of this by waking early naturally and immediately feeling alert, vital and ready for the day ahead.

  259. What I found fascinating Dianne is that I would accept waking up tired, groggy and starting my day in a late rush for the door. Yet why was it I never thought – “lets go to bed earlier”. It’s been a real challenge to sleep and rest with the way my body naturally wants to but over the years the difference has been marked. Now that you bring the science into this I do wonder why this is not part of science lessons in schools the world over?

  260. It’s fascinating to observe, that what we do in our day effects the quality of our sleep, especially the period before we go to bed. As a mother of 3 young children I used to squeeze as much time as possible for me out of the later hours when the kids were in bed. This had a huge impact on the quality of my sleep, often I would get into bed at 11pm with my head buzzing and unable to fall asleep, when in truth my body had been crying out for me to go to bed straight after the kids! The irresponsibility of my choice to stay up late would sit blatantly in my face the next day as I would wake up foggy, grumpy and resentful towards my family, who played no part in my decision to go to bed late! I was so willing to take my young children to bed, calm, warm and wrapped up, yet incredibly unwilling to do the same for myself!!!

    1. I agree this is an interesting observation and I can remember knowing in every part of me how important the wind down time before bed for our children was. Yet I did not apply this to myself. I am so glad that now I honour when my body needs to sleep and just do what I used to cram into the evening into the early morning but without resentment and feeling exhausted. This way makes so much more sense now:)

    2. I have known many parents to treasure this time late in the evening as their only time to themselves. I would love to hear more about how going to be early has been for you.

    3. The science of being tucked into bed has a huge effect on us. I don’t recall my parents doing that for me, so in adult life I feel there is less care I take for me to do that for myself. This is where I have to make a conscious choice and loving discipline to do it for me, because I am worth it (he says flicking his tussled hair).

  261. All one needs to do is try this out for a while – and then after going to be early for a while try going back to late nights. It doesn’t take much to connect to the inner wisdom. I find if we just let the body speak, it will say it very loudly.

    1. Absolutely and it is an experiment that costs us nothing except for maybe a few late night programmes on the TV and the body is there to show how much it loves it.

    2. Golnaz I agree, that’s what I did, I tried it for myself to go to bed early and then tried going to bed later, the body definitely lets you know. The quality of the sleep is completely different and you feel so much more rested when you awake the next morning, with more energy.

    3. Yes Golnaz, very true, our bodies will not hold back in telling us how it likes a rhythm of going to bed early. I love the simplicity of what you suggest to anyone who is curious about the benefits of it.

  262. Thanks for sharing this research Dianne. As you say, this only supports what I know to be true from my own experience of sleep. I have always been an early to bed early to rise type of person, but in more recent years I have been paying more attention to the quality of my sleep. As a shift worker, I know that the time I go to bed has a much greater impact on my alertness and vitality the following day than the amount of sleep I get. The research that you have presented here explains why this happens.

  263. Yesterday I was late to bed after arriving from a flight and woke up with a tired head! My body feels slow and I know that I need to be gentle with myself today! Early to bed and early to rise definitely makes sense! My body is proof of that wise saying!

  264. I went through a very loving bed time ritual last night and this morning I woke up feeling delicious. I would much rather go to bed early, wake up early and feel great than stay up late and wake up tired. I mean, hello?!

    1. I know. Aren’t we funny? Fancy making choices that will in turn make us feel less than amazing. We are in such ‘locked in’ patterns sometimes. Time to make some changes and feel the difference it makes. 🙂

  265. ‘The truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen. And that listening and knowing does not require scientific education or years of research to access; anyone is capable of accessing it.’ Dianne, it’s great to hear this from someone with a scientific background. Perhaps more scientists would hear this if they were not so stuck on the ‘evidence-based’ approach. What better ‘evidence’ than that which the body is revealing to us? We can be our own scientific experiment.

    1. Yes, Sandra, as you say ‘What better ‘evidence’ and yet we so often override what our body is telling us, which only exposes our arrogance and pride. When we embrace our body’s intelligence we begin the process of self love and self honouring which allows us to feel the true science that we hold hold within ourselves. We make life so much more simple for ourselves when we stop fighting the natural and innate way of the livingness that is within us all.

  266. I just love how you have brought science to a simple concept of looking after ourselves and going to bed early. So interesting!

  267. “Question:
    Do you find it difficult committing to a routine, quitting addictions, having enough energy, maintaining a positive attitude, staying emotionally stable, managing your moods, harmonizing with other people, remembering things, learning how to do new stuff, and/or changing behaviour when you realise that how you’ve been isn’t working?
    Answer:
    Go to bed early! It can change your life”.
    Very simple Question and Answer Dianne but very profound and wise; how could anyone disagree with you!

    1. Yes profoundly wise I agree Shirl… I have long observed in small children that if they are not ‘wound down and early to bed’, their behaviour is far more erratic and emotional, not to mention the impact I see on their health. They are more tired, more prone to getting sick, less vital and active (in a healthy way), more inclined to be ‘wired’ and agitated in their activity. For some when they go to bed very late consistently, their bodies become hardened much younger, not the relaxed, flowing, supple bodies of a healthier, well-rested (and well-slept) body. I see all the same results in adults with the exception that we’re usually so exhausted from not sleeping at the right times, that we require coffee and/or sugar to pep us up for the day’s activities. Understanding sleep and it’s importance – at the right time of night – is key in our long term health and wellbeing.

      1. Great point you make here Jenny about kids, and seems that when we reach adulthood we remove our fine attention of ‘bodily and well being state’ to then abuse our bodies. I see this in the workplace where we work exhausted and flat out and then go out afterwards, even when we’re tired under the guise of ‘work hard play hard’ – such abuse we could call it catches up on us in time and the body can only hold so much before it begins to breakdown.

      2. Yes totally agree Zofia, that work hard – play hard attitude starts at high school and carries right through any tertiary education and into the workplace. It makes no sense when it comes to the body but we aren’t listening to it’s signs and symptoms. It’s easy to override these with things that stimulate, as you say, sugary drinks, coffee etc. but eventually it catches up. Even then, we still generally don’t acknowledge how we got there, it’s random bad luck, or ‘in the family’ that we now have a thyroid condition, or chronic lower back issue, or depression etc.

      3. Sleep is taken for granted, we expect it, demand it, day in day out. Serge Benhayon has reintroduced the magic of true repose, the winding down, laying the ground to support the body to fully rest, allowing the organs to regenerate with ease and deliver a body bursting with vitality!

      4. Absolutely Lucinda, we expect the body to perform perfectly regardless (and in complete disregard) of the way we are running it. We would never expect this of our car or home… interesting isn’t it that we don’t have the same expectation for our bodies.

  268. “If you go to sleep much after 9 pm, you miss out on the ‘narrow window of opportunity’, the quiet time in which your brain can do the crucial first lot of work it has to, to get ready for the later work of the night and for tomorrow” is a truth that I have often experienced, as on the few occasions when I have gone to bed later than 9 pm I do not feel refreshed in the morning. Thank you Dianne for explaining the science behind this truth. And no, I could never imagine going into the office at 5 to 12 if I had 3 hours work on the computer to be completed by midnight, yet many expect their bodies to respond to a similar challenge!

  269. I so love to going to bed by 8pm to 8.30pm it makes so much difference in my quality of sleep and also how I feel the next morning when my body wakes me up automatically. Any opportunity to go to bed is such a joy. Unfortunately due to work sometimes I have to work later in the evening.i find these nights really impact my energy the following day.

    1. Yes agreed Amita, I am the same. Late to bed has far more impact on how I feel the next day than getting up super early. I used to think it was the number of hours sleep I got, but I now know that’s not true. It’s WHEN I get those hours that counts. It is a saying from way back that the hours of sleep we get before midnight counts for twice that number after. Learning what I did from Serge Benhayon, presenting that the hours between 9pm and 1am are crucial to the body’s ability to rejuvenate properly made perfect sense and l’ve lived by that understanding since… to enormous benefit.

      1. Jenny what I also find it’s the quality of sleep that also is important. When the quality of sleep is there, the body needs very little time to sleep and awakes naturally after it has fully rested. I have found lighter evening meals, winding down time and preparing for bed really supportive for my quality of sleep.

      2. Yes couldn’t agree more Amita… each of those things makes a big difference, as does the way l’ve been during the day.. the more stressed or anxious, the harder I find it to get to sleep, and the more sleep I need.

  270. Yesterday the clocks went back in the UK. But my body was feeling quite tired by the early evening. So I decided not to listen to the clock change. So I went to bed an hour earlier than usual (about 8pm) And the quality of sleep was amazing. I woke up feeling so vitalised and rested and ready for the day. It was a confirmation that by listening to my body and honouring it, my body returns the favour by being more alive. As a result my day flowed beautifully, and I am here winding down for the evening at 6:15pm. Everything we do affects everything else. To understand that is hugely powerful and gives us a sense of grand responsibility to the world. All felt from one hour’s difference in my sleep pattern.

    1. Wow hvmorden, it is so lovely to actually listen to our bodies and respect what they are saying. It seems so simple to rest when we are tired yet with so much stimulation and so many things to do, it is all too easy to override or ignore what our bodies are saying. However, as you have shared, when we do listen the results are amazing and life seems to flow.

      1. Yes Lee – I have just completed a course through Universal Medicine and have gone straight back into work. It has been a very interesting start to the week and I feel so sensitive to any form of pushing or drive, and what’s more I have started to speak up when I feel I need more support. It feels like the start to me redefining an area in my life where drive has got me through, and rather start to look at how to honour my body no matter what the situation or the external pressures.

      2. That is right Lee, we all have busy lives and there is always much to do and to stimulate us, but as Dianne has shared, that time in the evening is so important – if we steal a little bit of it we are never better off.

  271. I am being a lot more respectful of my hippocampus, what a fabulous word! Experimented for the past week going to bed earlier, tricky first couple of days which crept to 9pm but now easier to be in bed by 8.30. That sounds hilarious really, as I could be thought mad for doing so, so supposedly ‘early’, by so many but hey, the fact remains I do feel more awesome in the morning and throughout the day.

    1. I have tried it out. Gone to bed early for a while and then gone to bed late, and the next day have felt the vast difference in how I feel, how aware I am, what the kind of thoughts and behaviours I engage in, the extent to which I react to everything around me and how much I get affected by other people, and the difference is HUGE. People thinking I am mad for such a deeply caring and honouring choice for myself just shows that they simply have not tried it and do not know the difference yet.

      1. Yes Golnaz, I would have laughed at the notion of doing such things in the past but there is truth to the saying, “Dont knock it till you try it”.

      2. I gree Golnaz there is such a difference, in going to bed early versus later. It is through my own experience and trying different times, I am more aware what is supportive for me.

      3. My experience was similar Golnaz. When I first began going to bed early, I would choose to stay up a little later on special occasions with friends or family. And next day I was scrambled, uncoordinated – a MESS! There may be still a rare occasion when I have to stay up after 9, but now I make sure that it’s planned into a rhythm that will support me.

      4. Put like this Golnaz, beautifully simply, just let your body, your day speak for itself and show you the great potential that is available to us all.

      5. Yes, I agree the difference is huge and I cannot deny how I’ll I feel when I don’t go to bed early. It’s odd to me how I can catch myself looking upon staying up late as a treat! This really makes no sense when I refer it to my body; indeed many of what I used to consider ‘treats’ are now felt by my body as horrible – watching TV that feels yuck, certain foods etc. Time to refer to my body and not my head.

    2. Yes agreed Jeanette, the earlier I get to bed, the less sleep I need generally speaking. There is nothing better than waking feeling completely refreshed and ready to go for the day. That doesn’t ever happen if l’ve pushed past the time my body has indicated is time for sleep, regardless of how long I then sleep in.
      I learnt many years ago that it is quality and not quantity of sleep that leaves me feeling refreshed… something I first heard presented by Serge Benhayon, and borne out by my own experience every night since.

      2. Yes Amina, I see it in children all the time… the difference with vital,vibrant, healthy kids is often in the consistency of being in bed early and being well slept during those critical rejuvenative times. Any child who goes to be late, consistently, has certain struggles with either health, general demeanour and mood, with academic performance (in line with their abilities, not compared to others necessarily) and motivation levels. It is fundamental to everything in life, in my book.

      3. Actually me too Jenny, the earlier I get to bed the less sleep. And conversely the more I sleep in of a morning the more tired I feel. Go figure!

      4. Yes exactly, it makes perfect sense when you understand how the body works to support us.. when we work with it, it becomes very efficient. We have not even begun to study or appreciate what the body can truly do, we’re too busy being wowed by our physical prowess and feats of endurance. When it comes time to study the bodies of those living in line with the bodies natural rhythms, which includes and allows us to be in line with the Soul’s life force, THEN we will know the potential of the human being. I trust someone will study Serge Benhayon before it is too late, but if not, then all those who are following in his footsteps.

      6. I agree Jenny. I used to love to stay up late at night but would then sleep in late in the morning and still feel tired. Now I go to bed early and get up early and feel so much better and get so much more done because I have more energy! I find now even if I do sleep for a bit longer than normal, I will feel more tired than if I got up at my usual time. I does sound strange, but it really is true.

      7. Yes l’m exactly the same Sandra, if I wake early, but go back to sleep (often because I think it’s too early!), when I do wake up again a bit later, I don’t feel nearly as good. That feeling can linger all day sometimes.
        I used to think 3 or 4 am was ridiculously early, and most do I know, but really for a vital body, it’s actually a normal wake-up time.

    3. I love to experiment. I always say: you have to jump in the pool to feel the water. I have been going to bed at 7:45 the last two days as I was coming down with a fever and my period started. This was exactly what I needed and tonight might be completely different, who knows what my body will tell me…

    4. My family back in New Zealand think the hours I keep are rather bonkers as I have been known to go to bed as early as 7.30 if I am feeling tired and will be up before most people are going to bed. I also like the word hippocampus and its wonderful to know there is a science behind the early to bed thing.

      1. Great share Kev, it is easy to feel pressured to stay up late or to get the idea ingrained that we are missing out, yet is there a better time of day than the early morning, I just love that time to be up in and enjoy.

  272. Yes I too find that if I let it, my body will tell me exactly what it needs, in terms of food and sleep and what is right for me, it speaks very loudly. After years of ignoring it, I am now ready to respect it far more than ever before – I am getting to know I deserve nothing less.

    1. I agree Felicity. Our bodies speak very loudly when we listen. I often try to ignore my body, but when I actually listen to it and treat it with the respect, love and care that it deserves, the rewards are amazing.

      1. Yes it’s deeply honouring to listen to the body, to actually take on board what it’s communicating to us. I have noticed it starting to help me build my self-worth: that I am worth honouring, that I MATTER.

  273. Thank you Dianne, the science of going to bed early really does work and is life changing and I love how you describe the science behind it all. What is currently accepted in many parts of the world of staying up late is totally destroying to our very beings and our lives lived in true expression of who we really are.

  274. I want to simply express how I love it when science and life truly meet each other! Like in this marvellous blog of Dianne Trussell, it is really clear how and why we’re benefitting so much when going to bed early. Thank you for bringing this masterpiece together. Where so called ‘logic’ and heartfelt truths find each other so perfectly.

  275. On the weekend I went to an evening function and went to bed at 11pm. I felt heavy when I awoke and I knew that later to bed and the stimulation of the evening was detrimental to my body. Sometimes it is unavoidable to have a late night; it is an art to hold the stillness in the body when we have a late night. Love this article Dianne.

  276. My grandparents always used to go to bed early and rise early and I thought it was something that happened when you got older. But then I realised after I stopped drinking alcohol, taking drugs, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes that I too wanted to go to bed early which lead to waking and wanting to get up earlier. Then I felt the difference in how I felt in the morning and through out the day. It is worlds apart the two different ways in how I felt when I went to bed at different times. Now even if I have a later night when I have worked, I will wake earlier but can still feel in my being that I am slower and foggier in myself. I love going to bed earlier and rising early – I feel a million dollars all day long.

  277. I can still feel that my mind likes to interfere with bed time. I can feel the pull from my body to deepen my relationship with it, so that I am listening to it and acting on its impulses.

  278. Dianne, I love how you present science in such an easy, fun and light fashion. I know it’s been said before, ~ but it DOES make sense! Going to bed early. I love it, and always have. You could even make it more playful and it could be a bedtime story for children. They’d understand. It feels like too many people are more concerned about how many hours sleep they get instead of when they go to bed. Huge difference ~ and something that should be taught at an early age.

  279. Great blog Dianne! What you have presented is something that needs to be more widely known as it is very common for people to find ways to stay up late even when their bodies are screaming at them that they need sleep to rest and recover. It’s like it’s perceived as somehow pathetic to go to bed early, yet the benefits are clearly there. It’s good that science is finally starting to catch up to what many people have already known. As people start to take notice and make adjustments to their bed times, they may find that the benefits are beyond their expectations.

  280. There is something about the fact that if the day has not felt sweet enough then we need to extend it way beyond its time frame. Staying up late seems to be like squeezing the last part of the day out in case it offers more….
    But what’s missing?
    Perhaps its not the sweetness in the day we are after but the sweetness within us that we miss.
    If we felt this then every moment would be full and by the time our bodies said ‘enough’ we would say yes…. I am.

    1. The spirit is so eager to squeeze every last minute out of the day.
      But as you wisely say Kathrynfortuna could it be that we are looking for something to fill our emptiness.The affirmation that turning in gently and listening to our bodies brings is utterly enriching.

  281. This is so true Anne, ‘although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies’, I love the simplicity of this, i always used to look at books or go to a ‘specialist’ if I wanted to know anything to do with diet, sleep etc but now i simply experiment and notice how i feel as a result of what I eat, sleep times etc.. this feels so much more simple and works so much better.

  282. This is brilliant Dianne. I just love how you so clearly support age-old concepts, even so called old-wives tales, such as the benefits of ‘early to bed’ with science. You can’t argue when Ancient Wisdom and Science conjoin to present Truth – better just get to sleep by 9.00 pm instead.

  283. Dianne, when you ask, ‘Do you find it difficult committing to a routine, quitting addictions, having enough energy, maintaining a positive attitude, staying emotionally stable, managing your moods, harmonizing with other people, remembering things, learning how to do new stuff, and/or changing behaviour when you realise that how you’ve been isn’t working?’ I’ve managed most of that – quit smoking in 1977, quit coffee in 1991 and alcohol in 2005, but remembering things and managing my moods are two things I’m still working on. Being self-critical, eating sugar and going to bed late (10.30 is considered late now and sometimes I rebel and go to bed at midnight) has created a vicious cycle that I am struggling to break out of. The three are connected – being self critical is exhausting me, eating sugar to compensate means I don’t feel how tired I am and so stay up far later than my body is telling me to, and the lack of a good night’s sleep, timed to support my brain, is affecting my ability to stay steady throughout the day. Willpower isn’t working, so the best foundation for changing this behaviour is to further develop my understanding of why I do this, when I know not to. I am motivated to do anything for other people (being a good girl) but not for myself. That is the attitude and behaviour that I need to change and it means developing appreciation and love for self that surpasses all else. Respecting the body we live in is a key factor.

    1. How very honest Carmel. and also a clear picture of what you find difficult to change. As you say, we can’t do it through trying, and that is what so many people give themselves, rules to live by, and that is not it. I am a great rule maker for myself, and but that has never worked. We are our own scientific evidence of that. I absolutely agree the way to change is through recognising where those critical thoughts come from (outside of us), and developing love and appreciation of ourselves, for ourselves, and than creating a loving environment and rhythm of life will flow put of that. That is the only way to live life joyfully rather than in chaos or just managing.

  284. I just love the hippocampus… Neuroscientists are proving now that a loved and nurtured child develops a larger Hippocampus which has profound follow on effects in our lives.

    1. cjames2012 I am constantly amazed about how science is starting to confirm what is innately known within us and the effects that has on the body. To see that being nurtured and loved as a child supports one to develop a large Hippocampus which in turn supports the rest of our lives is another confirmation that what the Ageless Wisdom presents holds the answers we’ve all been searching for.

    2. James- It’s always very fascinating learning more about the science of how our body works. Better still is the “ageless wisdom”- lived and known in our bodies.

  285. I’ve had for a long time a relationship with going to bed early that wasn’t very loving. It was more like a rule. Of course I feel better when I go to bed early. I am now starting to feel that the benefit of sleep doesn’t only rely on going to bed early. But also on how I prepare myself going to bed, how I am with myself when going to sleep, the way I nourish myself or not. Even when I feel exhausted what is really beneficial is to take time to acknowledge this, feel my body and than go to sleep. Rather than numbingly going to sleep.

  286. It is such a pleasure to be able to read about a scientific explanation as to how going to bed early supports us. What is even better is that it is written in a language that is easy to understand. I love your way of writing about science Dianne.

    1. I agree Elizabeth. The way Dianne has written about science is wholesome, open and inviting.

      1. I also agree, your writing Dianne makes science fun, and easy to understand. I now have a greater understanding of the process of a sleep cycle.

  287. This is a supersonic blog and off the scale and I cannot endorse it enough.
    BIG Thanks Dianne and my reason for going on about how great this is because I LIVE this science you are talking about and have done so consistently for around 8 years. I am blown away how my body loves this early to bed business and never ever says “let’s stay up and party” so I know without any doubt it is the Truth.
    I have inspired loads of people and when I get asked what is it you do that you look so well, alive and not exhausted, I always talk about sleep time. It is not about how many hours but the QUALITY SLEEP which is about the time you go to bed.
    This man Serge Benhayon is truly amazing to know all this and so much more and then we got amazing people like Dianne Trussell who gives it to us in a way that is accessible and that means SIMPLE LANGUAGE.

    1. Great comment Bina, may I totally endorse all that you say. The fact that “it is not about how many hours but the QUALITY SLEEP which is about the time you go to bed” is not understood by many as there is a commonly accepted belief that it is the number of sleep-hours, which is important. Like you, it has been my experience that the factors which determine the quality of sleep have nothing to do with the hours of sleep but everything to do with the way one prepares for sleep, the time one goes to sleep, and the way in which one lives each day.

  288. This is a great article Diane, Very confirming to read about the benefits of going to bed at 9pm, after experimenting with sleep times, I have found a sleep rhythm that works for me which is going to bed by 9pm and waking up about 4pm, i feel energized and ready for the day. I do not miss going out late in the evening as it feels so lovely and nurturing to be tucked up in bed at this time and i feel so well as a result.

  289. I feel a bedtime story book being written here – It would have been lovely to have had it expressed to me as a child whether at school or home the many benefits of going to bed early and how it effects ‘all of you’. Instead of the many ‘excuse type’ reasons to initiate an early to bed routine. Treating staying up late as a treat with the many snacks included! Now my days are very busy as my energy levels are increasing, the whole rhythm of my day has a ‘flow with a glow’ yet, still honouring my body if rest is required. Now a later bedtime is rare and the consequences are felt big time – the pattern of my day soon changes and gentle rhythms start to wobble and then ‘old patterns’ can easily nudge their way back in. Yes still a ‘flow’ of sorts but this time no ‘glow’ as everything becomes more serious and focused. Amazing blog Dianne thank you.

    1. I love your idea of a bed time story . . . perhaps it can help us to remember how beauty-full we are and speak to us, not of dragons or princesses being rescued, but of love, and stillness, and simple joys, that tenderly remind us of who we are and clear away the dross of the day in preparation for restorative sleep and a wonderful day tomorrow.

  290. This blog Dianne is fantastic. You have taken the science of the body and broken it down in such a way that it can be easily understood by all. The science of sleep is something I know in my own body and one that is equally available to all. However our society is still set up to ask for ‘scientific proof’ so here you have presented so beautifully the evidence, the proof so easily and from your living knowing of this science and that equals super powerful.

  291. Dianne, I like your very fresh style of writing. I also experience going to bed early has a huge effect on my physical health. This rhythm suits my body much better, than staying awake until late at night. I feel more healthy and vibrant since I introduced this rhythm in my life.

  292. With all the research that has been conducted on sleep, it is astonishing that it has not automatically included the effects of going to sleep early! Many people go to bed early so why has this not been studied in depth?

  293. I have also found the science of going to bed early secondary to my actual lived experience of adopting this new rhythm a few years ago – going to bed early and waking early have changed my life, the way I work, how much I work and how I feel during the day. I couldn’t imagine going back to the old way of dragging myself into the night and staying up; and everything I thought I might miss out on I now make up for and surpass in the early morning hours. It is a great way to live.

    1. I agree Gabriele. And the thing that I feared I would miss out on, I was already missing out on – me. That sense of missing something has only started to quell since I started honouring the fact that there is a ‘me’ inside me.

      1. Beautiful Jinya Mizuno and Gabriele Conrad. I am still appreciating how my relationship with ‘me’ surpasses any other attraction that can take me away from first connecting with myself. I feel it acutely now if I ‘leave myself behind’.

    2. Hear! Hear! Gabriele, “going to bed early and waking early” is a great way to live and is our natural rhythm. I could not go back to my old ways of staying awake until late. The night owls don’t know what they are missing out on!

  294. Dianne, I love the way you link the scientific evidence about brain function in sleep to the cycles of our lives and our place in the whole universe and its larger cycles within which we live. This gave me a feeling of tuning in with more than just myself and my own rhythm, but allowing myself to connect and feel the greater pulse and rhythm of the heavenly bodies, starting with the moon and the sun. These are obvious to me, but the wider sphere can seem more remote and inaccessible. But it is all there to be felt and support us in our own rhythm of sleep. How awesome is that, but entirely and utterly natural and ordinary at the same time, when we choose to connect to it.

  295. Dianne what hits hime is that the “hippocampus” shrinks if you go to bed consistently after 9pm. This alone is such a clear message that the way we live directly affects the health of our body. Not only how we eat, drink, exercise, but how we go about our day and how we go to bed etc.. It’s undeniable proof and I feel very blessed to have read this as very few people around the world know such basic information – a sign that what we teach in schools misses the point of how to live in life.

  296. The question you pose at the beginning of this blog Dianne feels like it could apply to so many of us. And yet the answer is so simple, so practical and obvious. Since I first read this article it has inspired me re-dedicate myself to my sleep rhythm, I am grateful for this loving tribute to our hippocampus you’ve written.

  297. Lately I have been working a little later in the evenings and I haven’t given myself the space or time to wind down before I go to bed. When I get into bed at 9pm my mind is still racing around and it takes me longer than usual to fall asleep. I have have not been waking up as early as I usually do and I’m not as refreshed. If I go to bed half an hour later and then sleep for an extra half an hour in makes no difference. It is the time I go to bed that makes the difference and lately I have been acutely aware of the effects of not being in a quiet space ready for the 9pm office hours in my brain. That extra half an hour in the evenings has a huge impact on not only my sleep but also my following day. Writing this has confirmed for me how important it is for me to wind down before getting into bed by 9pm.

  298. Dianne – I love your way of explaining things. My body knows this and reading this was a beautiful confirmation. My brain didn’t know the science behind it all – well, actually clearly it does as it knows what to do at 9pm!

  299. ‘Among those consequences of repeatedly going to sleep after 9 pm are a measurable (9%) shrinkage of the good ol’ buddy hippocampus, a degree of shrinkage associated with depression’
    We all know how big Depression is and whilst statistics tell us one figure that is probably no where near the real truth as many go undiagnosed or will never ever admit they have depression. I have been studying depression and continue to do so and this blog confirms what I know.
    What I feel is that those advising or consulting need to look at their own sleep and study the science that Dianne is presenting here so simply, so when they advise their client or patient they are coming with the claim and authority from a body that Lives the science.
    I have seen miracles with depression from clients who have made a choice to take the advice and get to bed early – consistently. This repeated way of living a simple Truth, locks into our foundation what our body needs to support us without harm.
    Could it be possible that the ‘miracles’ are because the person presenting lives the science? Could it be that simple?

  300. It is great that research backs what many of us naturally feel, that going to bed early leaves you feeling so much more alive,
    ‘It’s fantastic that you have the research of the hippocampus shrinkage of 9% which happens with going to bed late repeatedly and also with depression’.

  301. Some people make it a rule never to go to bed before midnight and always wake at the same time every day – so they are in a regular rhythm, but it would be interesting to monitor their health and, if they could get to sleep at 9pm, for a week or nine days, what difference it might make.

    1. Would they get to sleep though Carmel? I know someone who lies awake and then gets anxious that she can’t get to sleep! I am sure though it would make an interesting experiment, particularly for those in the City who tend to get up early to go to work but stay up late at night. No wonder they are stressed in their jobs!

  302. Going to bed early has a great knock on effect for me of getting up early. I no longer have a fixed time in my head of what is the right time to get up. This morning I woke very early having already had 6 hours sleep. I was wide awake. Instead of lying there thinking I should be asleep, I got up and did some work. It feels lovely to be working at this time in the morning. I feel fresh, alert and work most efficiently.

    1. I agree Debra, Getting up early and getting things done when you feel well rested is so much better than trying to do things at the end of the day when you’re tired. I notice that so much more can get done.

  303. “Although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which we know), if only we listen. And that listening and knowing does not require scientific education or years of research to access; anyone is capable of accessing it.”

    Thank you for sharing this Dianne. To know that all the knowledge we need is already inside us is very confirming. From a young child and throughout most of my life I knew things that were true, but so often was questioned or ridiculed for what I said. It wasn’t until I met Serge Benhayon and heard him presenting about the Ageless Wisdom teachings, that I realised I had been right all long. There is a saying: ‘Out of the mouths of babes’…. maybe we should pay more attention to what our incredibly wise younger generations are telling us.

  304. It is so easy to forget that we have this physical body, with all of its chemistry and biology responding each day to the choices that we make. I always find that if I come back to my body, to how I care for it, then any dilemma can become more clear and I am more able to see a way through.

    1. I agree Shami. When I get in my head I tend to think about stuff and complicate and over think. When I stay with my body, situations simplify and I am able to contemplate them.

  305. I love this blog Dianne. “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try). Push it, and we become (and feel) less than we can be. Keep pushing it, and end up sick or crazy, or both.” Makes sense to me. I love going to bed early.

    1. Ha ha – I love the playfulness. This made me ponder on what makes it possible for us to get into bed “on time”. How we live throughout the day is what prepares us for being able to get into bed early. There must be a rhythm there that supports us. If we leave everything till the last minute and not been in rhythm with our commitments and the flow of the day then getting into to bed early can be hugely challenging.

      1. That feels very true Nikki. I have recently committed to walking regularly and I am becoming aware of the effect of the choices I have made since the last time I walked, from how my body feels. One thing I have discovered is that when I lose my own rhythm in the way I live and am pulled into the activity of work or life, a momentum develops that is not my own and this can be felt in my body when I walk. I feel that this is what you are describing – the momentums we develop from responding to life outside of us, making it difficult for us to return to our own natural rhythms. Conversely a momentum can of course be supportive if we develop it in accordance to loving choices made in connection to and full regard of us and our bodies, and not from the demands from life around us.

      2. Yes, we can stay with our body’s own rhythm or as you say Michael get pulled into another rhythm. A momentum may have developed around another rhythm that is not our body’s own. Breaking that momentum, or even becoming aware of it, can be extremely difficult and in a way your body can become used to it. If for example you always go to bed at 11 pm, if you try going to bed at 9pm you may lake awake for a while. The body needs time to adjust out of an old momentum and it needs support along the way. Again if you try going to bed at 9pm but are stimulated until 8.55pm then it will also be challenging to fall asleep.

      3. Yes Nikki, preparation for bedtime is an important part of the ability to achieve restful and rejuvenating sleep. I most often get to bed by 9pm but not always with a winding down that will serve me to sleep deeply, recharge and replenish. The quiet time before bed is something I have found to be crucial and requires a loving discipline I have still to make consistent.

  308. I love this statement that for you the science on sleep is retrospective because you have already felt the truth of sleep rhythms in your body and lived it for a number of years. This is a great relationship or understanding to have of science – which in effect, is that science is not telling us something that we don’t first have access to from the awareness we can feel in our own body – given that our body contain the particles of the universe and thus the intelligence that comprises the universe which is all-knowing love. Science is at best a confirmation of what we already know truly and deeply within if we connect to the wisdom of our essence.

    1. Sarah, I love where you say “Science is at best a confirmation of what we already know truly and deeply within if we connect to the wisdom of our essence”. I have just completed an amazing science course with the College of Universal Medicine titled “Modern Science meets the Ageless Wisdom”. It confirms what you say – at this point in time the Ageless Wisdom which we all carry within our body, can explain far more than Modern Science.

  309. It would be very interesting to take a group of depressed people and see how they would respond to going to bed at 9pm, I wonder if this would make a difference. I can’t help but feel it might, as it is often the many choices we make each day that have the most significant difference on our wellbeing.

    1. This has posed a thought Stephen, I wonder what the reason is for those who can’t get to sleep early? I know of someone who simply could not get to sleep at boarding school and this has carried on into adulthood. Is stress the factor here I wonder? Sensitivity or hurts from childhood? Insomnia is a big problem for a section of society as well as depression. Lots of thoughts arising from this amazing blog! Maybe Dianne has a scientific answer to these questions and more?

    2. That would be an interesting experiment done over time. I wonder if the hippocampus can recover from shrinkage? My feelings that with regular love and care (e.g going to bed early and in a body and brain that has wound down prior to this) that it could recover.

    3. Yes Nikki, my own feeling is similar, the capacity for the human body to recover when treated with loving care and attentiveness is enormous. And if we consider this from a scientific perspective, then what has been measured up to now in terms of our capacity to recover from illness is only based on the normal responses we take to ill health, but what if we create a new normal of deepened self care, then we might see more remarkable recovery from a great range of health issues.

    5. Indeed Jane, this study has already been made, by us. We are living evidence of the vitality and bountiful energy that is gleaned from the body by closing in, getting to bed early and waking early.

  310. When you put it in to the context of the cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronising all living bodies, that we can’t escape from, how can you argue with that?

    1. When you consider the magnitude and precision of the cosmic cycles we are in, how much effort it must take to push against and resist another natural cycle, sleep. I know I tried for many years but now appreciate and understand what a supportive choice it is to allow my body to do what it knows best and follow my own natural rhythm.

  311. These natural sleep rhythms have always been my body’s way. It is just that I spent a long period in my life over-riding and ignoring them because I let the ‘social norm voice’ shout louder. Adhering to the expectation of staying up silly late, sleeping in and doing all-nighters had a huge impact on my total well-being leaving me emotionally volatile and inconsistent, physiologically sick and mentally discordant. Returning to my very natural rhythm of early to bed and early to rise has quite simply changed my life.

    1. And there is a strong pressure not to go to bed early, it is looked on with incredulity by many, the thought of going to bed at 9pm, as if there is a great time being missed out on, when in fact the early rise offers a glorious period to wake feeling refreshed and enjoy the stillness of the early morning.

  312. I too have learned from Serge Benhayon that looking after myself and listening to the body, by not overriding it and staying up later has been incredibly beneficial. When I have those moments when I have to stay up past 9pm I always make sure that I have wind down and doing as little to stimulate myself as possible. Even if I am working I still go at a pace that is honouring that it is a time to repose and rest, it doesn’t effect the quality of work that I am doing it simply is not the same as if I am working in a lunch service. So when I do get to bed most of the preparation is done, just putting on the pj’s.

  313. I love how you have explained this, Dianne- so easy to understand and it makes sense! For all of us who go to bed early now and are really living well during the day as a result of this, we are living proof that this is so true -our own science project!

  314. I agree Gill… it would be fascinating to see the results of the research on a group of people who go to bed early and rise early i.e. a study not on the amount of hours slept but the timing of when that sleep is … and there is one such group ready and waiting in the students of the Way of the Livingness!

    1. I agree with you Paula- it would be interesting to see the research on the sleep patterns of those going to bed early and early rising.
      I know when I go to bed late I feel tired and groggy the next day.

    2. I agree Paula, I’d love to see at least one study on the timing of sleeping – it would demonstrate that the belief about ‘catching up on sleep’ is a fallacy and show that our bodies really appreciate conscious care of them, rather than ‘it’ll be right’, ‘it’ll sort itself out’.

  315. The way you explain science makes so much sense Dianne…what amazing wisdom our body has with all its filing systems, and connection to universal rhythms.

  316. ‘Go to bed early! It can change your life.’ Absolutely! This reminds me of being a child and being put to bed early despite our protestations to stay up later. It seems that we understand naturally that to nurture children, part of that is going to bed early so as to feel refreshed for the next day. How do we lose this wisdom as we grow into adults?

    1. Your comment Michelle has reminded me that my Mother used to say that it’s the hours before midnight that count towards your beauty sleep. Another one to add to the wise sayings that many of us heard as children.

  317. This morning I chose to get up early, even though it is a Sunday. Immediately after waking up I can see my head’s telling me to stay in bed. For a long long time I have listened to those thoughts. They were like the perfect excuse to close my eyes again and wander off. And although I stayed 10-15 minutes ‘indulging’ in bed, I also chose to get up and do my thing. Which feels so lovely. The stillness in me and all around me at this time of the day, the joy inside my body of being of service. And there’s also a sharpness in me that I feel now quite rare. As if I am more honest with myself, leaving a marker of being with me and not being with me. How delicate it actually is to be with me or letting other energies taking control over me. I am so sweet. So not only going to bed early is supportive, getting up early is also contributing a lot to my general well-being.

  318. It is incredible how much resistance we have to go to bed early. We all know from experience that whenever we go to bed early, we feel much better the next day. When we do not feel well, it is actually very accepted and ‘normal’ to go to bed early. So what is it about us that we’re fighting going to bed early so strongly? What is it that the late evenings and nights Truly bring. Do they really bring the missing piece in life? Or could it be that it is actually this paradigm that keeps us away from the missing piece in our lifes?

    1. One major piece we miss Floris van der Schot that I have experienced is if I disregard my rhythm of my Soul and not honour bed time 9 pm I am already out the next morning. In the moment I choose to stay up later I have not chosen to allow the bodies natural flow and the next morning I can feel it sometimes as bad as a hang over. Serge has said many times rhythms are everything and the more I honour mine the clearer life is which allows miracles to unfold.

      1. I went to bed much later than my usual rhythm last night and this morning I feel somewhat foggy and headachy and I just want to crawl back to sleep. I disregarded my usual way and my body is showing me in no uncertain terms (thank you body). Dianne’s words ring loud and clear and true to me in this moment. Science proven.

    2. I personally have never had any resistance to going to bed early! I have always loved it. When I first discovered the science of going to bed early and the rhythm of the body I was relieved. It was like I had been given the ok. But I do see a lot of resistance in general with people going to bed early. A lot has to do with how we have lived our day. If we are content in how we have lived then going to bed is a joy. But if we have struggled and pushed our way through the day then we can be left with always wanting more and then it’s a late night.

    3. What a great set of questions you are posing for us Floris.
      Thank You.
      This ‘paradigm’ you mention is the cause of many of our ills. As a big fan of going to bed early for almost a decade now, I can feel the health benefits and it comes with the bonus of a strong immune system. How I know this is because I no longer get sick and catch colds or get the flu. There has to be something here – going to bed early supports our body to get the true rest it needs.
      I agree Floris it ‘is incredible how much resistance we have to go to bed early’ and the world does not help as there is now so much entertainment to distract us and stimulate us so we end up buzzing instead of relaxing and winding down before bedtime.
      What the world offers is keeping us away from the ‘missing piece’ you are saying here.

      1. I love your confirmation as well as your personal experienced benefits of going to bed early. A lot of wisdom to me lies in the fact that people do the things that are best for them when they are suffering from illness or disease. Like drinking tea instead of coffee, going to bed early, taking genuine care of themselves in regards to movements, food, etc. So we do know… Why and what is it that we don’t choose this level of self-care everyday. What are we running away from? What is the arrogance and ignorance that keeps us going? The benefits as you’re saying Bina are just too good to be True! And, in the end it is the only way to come to a fullfilling life in the true meaning of these words.

  319. Going to bed early can make you feel fresher, lighter, more prepared for the next day. It can change the quality of your sleep, your eating habits, your relationship with others and even make you feel beautiful. Now why is it that we don’t all practise this one simple approach to sleep?

    1. That is a very good question, Kathryn. I know how changing my sleep patterns improved my vitality and moods immensely, but why do we resist it so much? Could it be that we identify with the feeling of excitement that we get by staying up late? We have to go into a kind of stimulation in order to get ourselves to stay up past when our body is telling us to go to sleep, so is it possible that we get hooked on that drive?

      1. Interesting questions, Naren. I’ve been observing kids and how if they get even slightly over-tired they can get quite hyped up and find it difficult to settle. There is often resistance to winding down before bed and if it is not started early enough the nervous system easily gets overstimulated. So even though you can see that the body is longing to go to sleep, it’s as if part of them is looking for any excuse to stay up and keep going rather than surrender to sleep.

      2. I remember that feeling as a kid, and when I became an adult it was fuelled by alcohol or even just watching television too late. I remember on so many occasions just flipping through the channels endlessly, knowing that there was nothing on, and asking myself, “What am I doing? Why don’t I just go to bed?” But there was some kind of compulsion that kept me up until I tore myself away, now totally exhausted, and collapsed into bed.
        But once I started to listen to the signs that my body was giving me, and paying attention to them, I realised that I actually feel ready to go to bed much earlier than I thought I would. By following this and not resisting it I feel so much better in my body!

      3. I like your sharings Naren, I can remember that feeling too, many times of staying up late when all common sense would have had me in bed hours earlier, yet that pull to stay up watching TV kept me in a pattern of self destruct. I now have a more loving discipline of early to bed meaning that behaviour can’t take hold so much, but it is still there and one for sure to watch out for.

      4. Indeed, Stephen. Those kind of behaviours are the ones that always come creeping out of the woodwork when we let our connection to ourselves start to slip.

      5. The drive to stay up flicking through channels is not natural, especially if we have overridden our body’s signals with stimulating food so it is simply a way to avoid whatever happens when we go to sleep – is it the stillness we are afraid of? Perhaps because in the stillness we get to feel . . . us.

      6. You mean if I stop I have to feel me?! The immensity of the divine glory that I actually sprung forth from and will someday have to return to anyway?

    2. With so many benefits, it’s incredible that we do not widely adopt the age old teaching of ‘early to bed and early to rise…”

      1. There can be so much wisdom in adages, wisdom that has been discovered by practical experience, i.e. not from what we think, but from what our bodies have actually experienced. ‘An apple a day …’ is another that has proven anecdotal evidence over the centuries … ‘early to bed early to rise …’ is one adage that is very much a building block in my life 🙂

      2. It is interesting that we repeat such adages over the centuries and know them well yet how many of us live them and put them into practice?

    3. Going to bed early has so much to offer us as you say Kathryn, and we all can easily feel this, I love going to bed early and how I then feel as a consequence.

  320. Dianne you make science seem so simple and that’s what we are all needing rather than feeling that something is too complex to understand.
    In this case sleeping and the cause and effect it has on our brains is so important to understand. Right here you add the fact that we are responsible for our choices….
    ‘So the consequences can be more than just ‘feeling tired’. And the whole equation gets tighter as you get older, like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!’
    We are all in this together aren’t we? I wonder when we will WAKE up? 🙂 🙂

  321. Great point Gill. There is so much said about hours of sleep, overlooking the fact that the ‘when’ is more important than ‘how much’. All of us I am guessing have had the late night that we try to make up tacking a bit extra onto the end. It has never worked for me that is for sure. I awaken groggy and feel flat all day. Science is confirming what can be felt when we go to bed early and catch the ‘sleep wave’ at its natural peak.

    1. This is really a great point Rachel and Gill, that “There is so much said about hours of sleep, overlooking the fact that the ‘when’ is more important than ‘how much’.” I know when I go to bed early I will wake early feeling refreshed, but when I’m late to bed and sleep longer in the morning, I too feel groggy and headachey all day. Plus when I’m up early I have much more energy and seem to be much more efficient in regard to everything that I do.

    2. Me too Rachel. If I go to bed late there’s practically nothing I can do to make myself feel better the next day; I’m tired, moody and groggy… As you say the amount of sleep makes much less difference than the time of when I go to sleep – I can sleep 9 hours and feel like I’ve slept 1 if I’m not going to bed at the right time… On that note – I’m off to bed!

    3. Same, same for me too. Even though I do not drink alcohol, I can feel almost hungover when I go to bed repeatedly late.

    4. Sandra, Susie and Michelle, we all know this is the case. We do not need a scientific study to confirm that it is so. I agree Michelle with the sense of being hungover after a late night with no alcohol. I recall sleeping in as a teenager on weekends until 9am!!! How that is even possible I do not know. It felt terrible and I was like a zombie all day – but I kept on doing it. That experience shows that sleep cannot be “made up for” like an exercise in crunching numbers. It has a very specific timing and rhythm.

  322. Thank you Dianne and for your comment Monika2808. I used to go to bed a lot earlier than I do at present and I am sure what you say is true for I am finding it harder now to complete all my tasks without getting tired and without wanting to resort to rewards of food and the occasional TV to not feel this. Your reminder is right on cue. And allowing myself that extra time at night to care and nurture myself totally makes sense as a preparation for a good night’s sleep.

  323. This is a beautiful blog Dianne, going to bed early makes so much sense. If I allow my body to do its thing I have realized that I want to go to sleep around 8ish. The preparations for a good night sleep starts already how I enjoy putting myself down to sleep. That is already how I do complete my work, putting on my PJ’s, brushing my teeth and removing make up, applying my skin products, all that in celebration of myself – makes me sleep in honor for myself and my body.

    1. Late to bed and my thoughts are literally more negative and self-defeating the next day. Early to bed and I wake up thinking with far more clarity and self-affirmation guaranteed. Now there is science in the making!

      2. Me too Dean. The level of clarity is so strong and there is definitely a spring in my step to start the day.

      3. The natural science of our bodies beautifully supported by Dianne’s article and research. The way I feel when I wake up is absolutely governed by how I was the day before and the quality (including time) that I took myself to bed.

      5. There probably isn’t a person in this world that if they had early nights to bed (rather than late ones) one after the other for 7 days wouldn’t feel far, far clearer and sharper in themselves. It is a universal truth that requires no proof…
        I watch the noisy minors (Australian bird) each night in our back yard make their way into the tree branches at dusk, shuffle around for a few minutes then settle motionless under the leafy branches for the entire night.
        They do this every single day, NEVER missing a beat, never later nor early for that matter and ALWAYS in rhythm perfectly.
        I am learning more from that little family of noisy minors (because there are three or four of them on that one branch each night) than I have from any science journal I have ever read!

      6. I found it fascinating when I first started to introduce early to bed early to rise into my rhythm as I was not aware that it would have such an impact on how I would feel. But after a while and taking a moment to step back and see it for what it is, it makes complete sense that you would have more loving and supportive thoughts and feelings the following day. I totally can see how the way I live the previous day has a massive impact on how I feel the following day.

      7. Absolutely Dean, this is my experience too. I also notice that if I have continued late nights and less sleep than my body needs, my breathing is affected and it becomes very difficult to breath in a smooth and rhythmic fashion.

      8. Yeah breathing is a big one Shevon. Our breath is such an important factor in how we are feeling and too often I notice I am short of breath at times or not aware of my breath at all.

      9. I can wholeheartedly agree. I feel completely different when I wake after an early night. Not only is there more clarity, there is way less chatter and forward thinking about the day ahead. Instead I get to wake just resting in stillness and spaciousness of just being me.

      10. Absolutely Dean, the results are clear as day. I used to suffer with bouts of depression, my sleep patterns were super inconsistent and I felt anchor-less, purposeless. Sleep is such a powerful aspect of our lives for which we do not give nearly enough credence. The self regard, vitality and energy that I feel from consistently putting myself to bed early and waking early has changed my life.

      11. So true Lucinda and the actual quality of sleep we have is of course so important and has a lot to do with the quality of life and choices we live during each day. We take that to bed with us every night and it affects us greatly either for better or worse.

    2. I have found this too, Monika, when I follow what my yawning and tired eyes are saying, I’m needing to be in bed by 8pm’ish and then have the pleasure of waking about 4am’ish and being with me and of setting myself up for the day. If I don’t, I end up ‘so far behind the 8 ball’ that my day is stressful with negative thinking, urgh no thank you.

  324. GOSH Dianne, I absolutely love your knowing of science, and your way of making it so simple, accessible, and cheeky. It all makes sense; everyone knows the feeling of a ‘good nights sleep’ and waking up feeling rejuvenated and fresh- once all the things in the brain have been filed. Wow, I did not know of the consequences, however I too believe that if we stop and listen to our bodies, they naturally want to go to bed at 9pm, and it is a conscious pushing to stay up past this. I have lived in a rhythm of going to bed at 9pm for years now, and although through school people may have thought it was ‘uncool’, being truly loving and honouring of my cycle obliterates the need for being cool anyway – as you wake up every day knowing and feeling more of yourself, and in the end you do not care what other people think.

    1. I love your expression here Arianne and I love the brilliant way in which Dianne explains the process of sleep. When we know something because we experience it in our bodies, being cool or fitting to please others means we must dishonour ourselves which is so harmful. Learning to trust what we feel and know is truly empowering.

      1. Absolutely Bernadette, ‘being cool or fitting to please others means we must dishonour ourselves which is so harmful’, I spent years trying to be cool, staying up late, drinking and partying, but I didn’t really enjoy it, it’s just what everyone did. I love that I do not care about being ‘cool’ now, instead I listen to my body and go to sleep early which I love, and I feel so much better as a result.

      2. What you and Arianne both say Bernadette makes so much sense. It really does comes down to a choice of whether we chose to love and honour ourselves or fit in and trash our bodies. The former choice I know I don’t always make, but it is still a choice we can make in any moment.

      3. Once we have felt a healthier more supportive way in our body, we can never say we didn’t know or didn’t have a choice again. That experience in our body means there is always a pull or tension in us if we go against what we know would be best for us. I find this physical pull is what helps me to stay on track and keep developing a lifestyle that supports me.

      4. Yes Fiona that tension becomes a signal that I have moved from what I know to be supportive or true for me; it’s a choice I have made to dishonour or ignore what is actually what the body knows is of it’s nature!

      5. It is so true and great point you make. “being cool or fitting to please others means we must dishonour ourselves which is so harmful. Learning to trust what we feel and know is truly empowering.” When we dishonour our feelings we are not being true to ourself, and in turn we are no being true to others. This energy we carry in our body is harming. When we trust what we feel and honour that, not only is it empowering for ourselves but for everyone around us.

    2. Excelllent point Arianne, I love how you explain the lessening impact of peer pressure- you go to bed early, feel better for it, self worth increases, the need for approval from peers lessens, and so self honouring becomes the real cool! How awesomely truely rebellious to love oneself so deeply that peer group pressure is negated.

    3. So well said Arianne..honouring what is true for us takes care of any worry about being cool.. because there is no longer any desire for it, and what you are naturally in your fullness takes you way beyond cool. 🙂

    4. It’s interesting what you say Arianne about ‘being cool’. It’s just occurred to me… being cool is not actually very cool. In fact, we tend to get so emotional by fitting in instead of honouring ourselves that we end up running ‘hotter’ than normal. By being truly self-loving, going to bed early, eating what our bodies need, etc, we develop a kind of steadiness, stillness, presence and detachment that is actually the coolest way of all! I’ve noticed when I’m in this kind of ‘coolness’, that when people’s lives get crazy and out of control, they will come to me for support and stability. Even the young neighbourhood dogs freaking about what’s going on will come to the stillest, steadiest place for reassurance! How truly cool is that?

    5. ‘Being truly loving and honouring of my cycle obliterates the need for being cool anyway – as you wake up every day knowing and feeling more of yourself.’ Now THAT is cool, and shows a huge strength in what I imagine is a huge opposition in school.

  325. In the past I have ‘switched off’ from scientific explanations because I have found them too confusing and difficult to understand. I distinctly remember sitting through physics lessons having absolutely no idea what was going on. Here Dianne, your explanation of our brains doing ‘office work’ and the back and forth through a kind of email conversation between the cortex and hippocampus is clear as day. I get that, I can now appreciate why my filing simply won’t get done in a steady way if I abuse this process. I am inspired to get what needs to be done early to allow me space to unwind for sleep. It’s a cycle, one that supports and one that doesn’t.

  326. Dianne, thank you for sharing the scientific research that supports why it is beneficial to go to sleep before 9pm. I have always loved going to bed early and found that I feel so much more ready for the day when I do and like you when I can get into a phase of going to bed even earlier, my productivity, mental well being and contentment all improve the next day. I love sleep but only the yummy restorative sleep that leaves me feeling vital. When I get bogged down with getting things done and working on my computer late the quality of my sleep is significantly impaired and the quality of the next day diminished. In the past I allowed these cycles to continue until a point where I felt so exhausted that I would crash out for 12 hours sleep straight to compensate for all the extra work my brain had done. I would feel more rested but I would still not have the vitality that I feel from early nights and early mornings.

  327. As a child I always wanted to stay up late (with the adults) a bit of If ‘they can do it so can I’ – setting an example. Now as an adult the joy of snuggling into bed early and feeling the benefits of doing just that are very evident the next day – observing now that my grown up children are actually going to be much later than me!

  328. Thank you for putting this together Dianne. This research confirms my experience. I work shift work so am often in bed late, between 1130pm and midnight. I have found that if I get to bed before 9pm the quality of sleep I have is much greater and I feel less tired. Even when I have the same number of hours sleep, or even more hours sleep after going to bed late, I still feel better and less tired when I am in bed before 9pm.

  329. I absolutely agree, I used to call myself a night owl “… the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen.” I was more stressed and anxious, hungry and melancholy than I am now, and that is just some of the amazing changes that have occurred, for me this is enough evidence that earlier sleep patterns support my general well being in health. I would say give it a go and see what happens…

    1. ‘I would say give it a go and see what happens’ – Precisely Samantha – you never know what will happen until you try it yourself! A lot of people cringe at the idea of going to bed early, but it’s actually not bad at all – in fact I love it very much; there are no cons to feeling vital and fresh!

  331. Apart from all the research and even the fact that our bodies know and feel to naturally wind down and go to sleep around 9pm, it makes perfect sense to follow nature’s ancient rhythms. As you say Dianne, our bodies are attuned to the grand cycles and rhythms of, not just this planet but, the universe. We can choose to flow harmoniously as part of the greater all, or live out of sync and experience the discrepancy.

  332. Dianne I have always loved going to bed early and getting up early, fascinating to read this is sceintifically supported too – I love you work, it would make an awesome book!

  333. I remember back in the day hiding under the covers, hitting the snooze button again and again and again….. hanging out to the absolute last second I could before dragging myself out of bed with no amount of sleep ever being enough.
    Fast forward a few years and my living experiences from being a student of the Ageless Wisdom and I’m in bed by 8,30-9pm and wake up with no alarm by the latest, 3am.
    This doesn’t come from any doctrine within Universal Medicine but through a deepening of my self-loving relationship with myself and an awareness and understanding of what works for my body.
    Thank you Dianne for sharing the science of how this choice supports my body and consequently the amazing vitality I now live with, daily.

    1. Wow Julie, this is such a great testament to Universal Medicine. I did not know you back then but knowing you know and how joyous, fun, loving and full of energy you says to me this is nothing short of a miracle.

  334. “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try)”. Time we all realise that we and our bodies are part of a cosmos that is grand and that we have yet to fully understand how we are affected by the whole and that we affect the whole as well. Don’t you just love that, knowing that what I call MY body is actually not mine, it belongs to the universe and to God?! To me this is pure magic.

  335. I am taking my hippocampus off to a quite unstressed place to do some sorting – if only human biology had been presented in this way in high school! I just love it.

    1. Absolutely nicolesjardin – So agree if human biology was expressed in this way of which Dianne does so well, not only would I have been chomping at the bit to attend again to my next lesson (with a large queue behind me) but my natural impulse to go to bed early would have been so much part of my routine when a teenager.

  336. Going to bed later than my body can handle or stimulated is just another way of putting off developing a deeper relationship with my body, my soul and God.

  337. The world and its brothers need to read this blog and then re-read it again and again until it is fully understood and applied. This blog is a game changer and it holds power and truth. The world needs this and it should be published in every medical journal and taken into GP surgeries and hospitals. It should then go out in every language and simplified for those who have reading disabilities. Next – it should be taught on the school curriculum and parents would be accountable if this is not adhered to.
    We then need to take it to the government and advise those politicians to make this a national study and they will get results. Long term society benefits – we ALL benefit.
    How can that be wrong ?
    Sincere appreciation to you Dianne Trussell – you are leading the way forward for simple science. This is what the world needs, as complicated science has not truly worked, and it’s time to wake up.

  338. Dianne, I love this, how the lived way and the scientific research go together, and how you show this here. And timing is key, it makes a huge difference what time you go to bed.

  339. I love the lived science we all innately have and you express it beautifully here Dianne.

  340. I used to be a person who was really focused on how many hours sleep I got. We are told by researchers that we need a certain amount of hours to function well, in the same way that we are told by researchers that we need a certain amount of various foods to function well; however I am finding more and more that it is the quality of how I live that is the real clincher. If I do not get drawn into emotional battles and if I live in a way that is honouring for my body then the amount of sleep that I need and indeed the amount of food that I need/want is less than is generally recommended.

  342. Thank you Dianne, It is confirming to hear the science explain what I already feel in my body. The two together are a powerful combination.

  343. I feel such an appreciation for the hard working hippocampus after reading your article, Dianne, and would like to apologise publicly to mine for the abuse I heaped upon it earlier in my life: it always seems to be the tidy-uppers and the invisible workers who perform such amazing tasks without any accolade or public acknowledgement. Thank you, hippocampus 🙂

  344. The wisdom in these words is awesome, Dianne: “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try). Push it, and we become (and feel) less than we can be. Keep pushing it, and end up sick or crazy, or both.” I have to question the source of the arrogance that has us thinking we can push against the rest of the Universe and “get away with it.” I love how you share the precise timing that is necessary for us to work optimally with these cycles and how it is simple if we simply listen to our bodies.

    1. Well said Coleen. I am slowly allowing my body to communicate with me more and more but I have been super arrogant for most of my adult life in rejecting my connection to the cycles of life and overriding my body and forcing it to stay up long past 9pm. Accepting that I am a part of the universe and I have a responsibility to support my body has allowed for a much improved quality of life and so much more vitality and enjoyment of life.

  345. I am now understanding science, Dianne for the first time in my life – everything feels so accessible and fills me with wonderment and has brought a whole new meaning to the life I live – and a new understanding of why I go to bed early. I knew what suited my body but I was going to bed early more from a point of exhaustion. With the new depth of understanding I have from your blog I can treat my brain with more sensitivity and love.

  347. Yes, we only have to listen to our own bodies to feel what works and does not work for us. So what stops us from embracing this, is it we need permission then to honour that in full?

  348. The way that such profound wisdom is made super easily accessible, and transformed into such practical advice is an absolute credit to the way this writer is able to bridge so that everyone has access to this information… And what vital information it is.

  349. Dianne, your simple wisdom made me smile as I re-visited your blog this morning – ‘Go to bed early! It can change your life’. My body’s natural way has always been to go to bed early and to rise early, but for the most part as a teenager, parent of children, friend etc., has meant that I have over-ridden what my body asked of me and went with the need to ‘belong’. Today many things have changed and one of these is the ‘early to bed and early to rise’. It has changed my life. Life can be simple, all we need to do is choose 🙂

    1. I can relate to this, and see it every day in my friends. As a teenager it is expected of you to go to bed super late and wake up late, to the point where people often post on social media things like, ‘Why am I awake so early?’ (at 10am on a weekend), or ‘I’m so tired I just have to sleep’ (at 11pm)!

  350. Indeed it is pretty amazing science behind an early night sleep and the wisdom that lives dormant within us, only to be accessed at anytime we so choose to connect and listen to our bodies, thanks Dianne.

  351. Great to have the confirmation from science about something that most of us feel intuitively anyway. It probably cost a lot to get this knowledge and may cost a lot more as people dispute it. Why not just try it for six months or so and see what a difference it makes? It is certainly working for me and a lot of others that I know.

  352. It’s kind of funny that we even need science to prove that ‘yes the results show going to bed early is healthiest’ when it is something that even birds and animals know how to do without doing any studies whatsoever!
    In fact it’s about as comical as a group of emperor penguins deciding that after extensive research ‘yes huddling together in the cold and taking turns at who is on the cold face is the best way to deal with the harsh annual winter blizzards’!

    1. Haha yes very true Dean, although it is great knowing and understanding the science that proves why going to bed early is healthiest, it is already extremely obvious through how our body feels when we go to bed late vs early!

  353. “Go to bed early! It can change your life”, this is definitely true and is being proven over and over again, there so many of us who live this daily and have notice the change In our health, illnesses, diseases disappearing and miracles happening. It really is about giving it ago and seeing it for oneself how It changes ones life.

    1. Yes, and that one simple choice to go to bed early is like the choice to fill a watering can with clean water, which then pours out to nourish everything it touches. We wouldn’t fill it with dirty water or try to water the garden on empty.
      The quality of our sleep is the foundation of our quality throughout the day.

      1. It is that simple and if I look back I see it that I had the fear of missing out on something if I did not watch tv before going to bed. The longer I was sleeping the more tired I was, what a big sign it was, already. Now I enjoy my early sleeping so much.

  354. Dianne in our society, western society that is, with all our advancements it seems obvious we’ve missed the very thing that could sort out exhaustion, fatigue and basic health. For if science knows the importance of sleep cycles, if we know that going to bed after 9pm means we miss out on a narrow window of opportunity for parts of our body to recover then why on earth do we ignore this? The basic 101 course on how to live at school should confirm these things rather than the “entertainment” industry that encourages late night pursuits. There is much that can be said here on this topic but in the end as you’ve shared early to bed is scientifically a good idea and one where I certainly notice the difference in how I feel.

  355. Wow Dianne, I never knew there was so much science behind going to bed so early and that it is proven to be so supportive for so many of aspects of our lives, however this has definitely been something I have felt within my body, when I go to sleep at an earlier time it is as if I can live a completely different life, all my issues or bad habits that may usually carry out during the day seem to be far easier to let go of.

    1. This is a great point Oliver, and it makes complete sense that the more supported we are, the less tension there will be around certain issues in the day.

  356. A fascinating blog Dianne confirming what I feel, that by going to sleep early, I feel so much better in many ways.

  357. Yes, they should talk about this at school, lessons about our body, how it functions and the relationship we have with it.

    1. Adding to this Mariette and Gill, imagine the television networks not putting on what they consider the best programs after 9pm! What about restaurants closing by 9pm, the list goes on and on and shows how ‘life’ is one big sleep disturbance when it comes to being in sync with the Universe.

      1. For most people (social) life starts after 9 pm and the whole society is set up for this. There is absolutely no reflection out there that supports us in getting back to our true rhythm. We live in an upside down society that comforts us in a rhythm that does not support our body, our vitality and health.

    2. Yes Mariette, school lessons about the natural rhythms of our bodies and how it functions, as well as other lessons on relationships, responsibility, the importance of giving one hundred percent commitment in life and why, energetic integrity, true religion, spirit and soul studies and the science of reincarnation. These are just a few of the topics we need to cover at school for our development in life.

      1. That sounds awesome, schools and universities teaching this and inspiring all children and students and give them a true and loving foundation from which they can step into the world and be true to themselves.

    3. I love all what you said, but actually form my experience children know when they are tired if they live in an environment who supports this. So actually the parents should re-learn the rhythms of sleep again. If they don’t calm down in the evening how shall kids this do with them?

      1. Very true Sonja, if the parents don’t reflect this to the children, then where to start? It all starts at home, and we as parents have a responsibility in offering children a loving and true reflection.

  358. Such overwhelming scientific support for the completely sounds anecdotal evidence almost everyone has experienced at one stage in their life – early bed makes you feel great!

  359. This makes so much sense Dianne – you have an amazing gift to bring science in a very relatable way for everyone. How wise and clever is our body to be naturally connected to all the cycles within the universe – and where are we at as a humanity that we don’t know this, that it’s not taught in our education?! It has only been through Serge Benhayon’s presentations that these cycles have once again come to the fore.

    1. I agree, Paula: our bodies are so amazing to be in tune with all those huge cosmic cycles out there: they truly deserve our respect and love. I just wonder what’s going on in the mind that chooses to ignore all this wonder and stays up late in abuse, not only of its own body, but also all those amazing energies and rhythms as well!

  360. Another very interesting article Dianne. Science is catching up with what old folks used to know as truth. Modern life has given us many opportunities to stay awake well beyond the optimal time to recuperate from the stress of daily living. Yet when we reconnect to our body clock it is natural to go to bed early and adopt the gentle and caring rhythm as per the Ageless Wisdom.

  362. “The science presented is the retrospective” as Dianne says, yes we have all this wisdom about early to bed inside our bodies, we don’t need a research paper to tell us the benefits, yet we are almost all of us now relying on science to tell us what to do. The science lives within us and there is no greater wisdom than what the body is able to communicate to us if we are willing to listen. I really enjoyed the explanation provided here, it provides a lot of aha moments, saying, ah thats why I feel like this when I choose this bedtime or that, and I did actually know that, and thankfully there was a man Serge Benhayon who presented this to me in a very real lived way that was accessible and understandable.

    1. Very true Stephen. For the body’s communications to be listened to, they first have to be accepted as being communication and not just another morning waking up exhausted or with a hang over etc.

  363. This is lovely Henrietta, I have also found that going to bed early transforms my days. It’s true that how I prepare for sleep just before going to bed is important. Curiously, and when I look at the whole picture, I observe that how I live my day is already preparing me for sleep. What I eat and drink during the day affects how I sleep. Expressing myself truthfully is great for inducing sleep. Allowing people to be responsible for themselves, detaching myself from emotional upsets of others and not taking them on personally, enhances the quality of sleep I have.

  364. “You might try to get off the hook by thinking: “Oh well, if I go to bed late, I’ll just sleep late and my brain will still get it all done,” Mega-wrong! The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from…..” I know people who believe that by sleeping later they can ‘cheat’ this – wrong! They need coffee in the morning to get them going. I myself feel so different now I have a consistent rhythm of going to sleep at 9pm – I wake early and refreshed (on the whole) and ready for the day – no coffee required or desired.

  365. I also find that if I listen to what my body needs during the day I am then far readier to listen again when it says it’s time for sleep. Nothing feels more amazing as when I get into bed and let go of the day, I know then that I will sleep well, and wake up refreshed, the most amazing way to self care at night.

    1. This is fascinating in itself to consider that how we live throughout the day has a bearing on how we will sleep and the quality of sleep that will then prepare us for the next day.

    2. As I read your comment at the end of the day, I was reminded to let go a little more in preparation for a good night sleep. Half an hour earlier than usual. Lovely.

    3. I can prove this in my before and after years of my life. I used to exhaust myself and I ignored the warning signs of my body, not going to bed when I was tired. The distractions that I had allowed me to stop from feeling my inner call. My body always knew and that is true science for me, the body’s wisdom and connection to the bigger cycle with the moon and the universe.

  366. Thank you Dianne. I always find it interesting when scientific research confirms what is felt in our bodies regarding our health. Once connected to the simplicity and benefit of going to bed early ~ and how my body feels as a result, I can’t believe I didn’t do this all along! I love Honouring my body now and when it feels to sleep – as opposed to many years of trying and getting it to stay up later! The exhaustion that resulted from this drive was somewhere on the spectrum of what is expected as ‘normal’ now in everyday life, but it was clearly very far from healthy.

  367. What is beautiful also Dianne Trussell is how you present your scientific ‘knowings’ and discoveries in this format – I love how it is left open and not closed off. There is the possibility that there is more and you do not own the findings. There is a vast opportunity for others to comment and expand ‘your theory’. This brings a LIVINGNESS to the theory and not just a knowledge. Is this the new way forward for science and end the controlled results?!

    1. Great point Rik – open exploration and an invitation for group discussion to further expand scientific findings and understanding is certainly unusual and a needed step away from predetermined outcomes and finite results.

    2. Well said Rik. The wisdom within our own bodies is surely worth listening to. As a society we have allowed ‘science’ to tell us that cigarettes were healthy when our lungs were telling the truth all along. Of course these particular scientific findings have now been exposed for the sham they were, however, the same relationship with scientific evidence still exists. Dianne’s brilliant blog shows how powerful it can be to listen to the body as a living science.

    3. Agreed Rik. And also that the research only confirms what we know in our bodies. As is the experience shared by many of the commenters on this blog – the research stands to confirm what is already known.

  368. Awesome blog / article again Dianne Trussell. It is a Big subject sleep! You cannot really deny the results when you and many others are living proof that this works, and I love how simple it is. We have the answers in our body as Dianne was stating. The facts are there, already there. Love it.

  369. Great point Carmel, we can be our own walking and talking science experiment. I know I certainly experiment with how I prepare for sleep and then how I wake up in the morning. There are certain things that consistently seem to be there to support me at this point in time to sleep well and then wake up refreshed. The bedtime preparation is paramount, and going to bed early is so supportive as well as how much and the type of foods that I eat the night before. And when all this falls into place – I wake up naturally so, early and rearing and ready to go for the day, no alarm clock, just the body awakening and ready for service. This feels amazing!

    1. Yes, Henrietta, I agree, when I go to bed early, with tender bed time preparation, I too can wake early before the alarm, and getting a ‘result’ like that encourages me to do it more often – instead of beating ourselves up for ‘getting it wrong’ we can always look at our actions and observe the consequences and see for ourselves how making different choices leads to great results.

      1. Henriette I agree with you completely about how we can be our own walking and talking science experiment. I am a night shift worker and start work at 11pm. Although I can’t often be asleep for the juiciest hours I have felt my way into a really supportive routine. I have found that by listening to my body I continually refine the what, when and how of my life and am able to feel pretty vital most of the time. There are certain times when my energy is low, particularly after a long stretch of night shifts but I have learnt not to get caught up in adding disappointment to my lack of energy but simply to accept it and know that my routine will support me to get back on track again.

      2. Spot on Carmel – learning through the body is a very valuable experience, and it is not about beating oneself up if it’s not working as we imagined – simply it is about reassessing and keeping that which works and ditching that which does not.

      3. Alexis, what you share is nothing short of amazing! Shift work, especially when it includes night shift work is certainly challenging! I have done a few short stints of night shift work and found it very challenging to integrate into my next few days. But as you have shared, there is a way to work with it so that over time we refine things and can then not be so ‘whacked’ by it. A learning through the body – certainly!

      4. As I read this brilliant article I felt quite sheepish feeling the way I constantly push to stay awake past 9pm which is clearly self sabotage. I love the idea of acknowledging the positive changes in our bodies when we make choices that are supportive.

      5. Leonne, it is interesting how you talk about the self sabotage and how quickly that can creep in in various areas of our lives. We actually know what is needed and what is best, and then we override it thinking we know better or will ‘get away with it’ just this once…but who are we fooling? I know that it always comes back to me sucking the eggs the next day. Sometimes it’s like we have to keep sucking eggs till it gets to a point where we say ‘NO MORE’. How FREEING is it when we actually say no to the sabotage and stick with what the body knows works best!

      6. Yes this is so true. We always get another chance to deepen our relationship with ourselves and sleep and even ‘get it right’ by refining our choices and choosing differently the next time. The beauty of the same day repeating perhaps?

    2. True Henrietta. And there is no substitute whatsoever to compensate for a bad night’s sleep – no amount of sugar, caffeine, naps in the day, food, exercise, or stimulation can ever make us feel as great as naturally waking up early bright, vibrant, inspired and ready for our day.
      When we do not go to sleep early, we need to live with the consequences for an entire day until we can go to bed early, OR, repeat the whole thing again!

      1. So true Kylie, the consequences for the body are felt instantly, and many of these can be avoided by simple choices and loving preparation. But like Alexis has mentioned above, we can also learn to work lovingly and respectfully with the body with shift work and night work – it can be done though often needs a little more practice till we get it ‘right’ in other words get a rhythm down pat that still supports the body whilst doing what is needed for our community and society.

      2. Thanks Alexis for your sharing, I am sure that our body can handle every situation even with having night shifts as you say, you are still vital. For me it comes back to the total surrender and trust to our body and allowing it to show back to us how to eat and how to be in life so we do not waste our vitality.

    3. So true Henrietta, not only the time we go to bed but also the way we prepare for bed is important. I have found that I need to stop doing mentally stimulating activities by about 6pm to allow myself to eat in an unhurried way and unwind from the day to prepare for bed. I know that when I am still doing emails right up until I go to bed that my sleep is less rejuvenating and I feel more tired the next day.

  370. Thank you for providing a lovely confirmation from science about what I have felt to be true from listening to my body Dianne. Early nights are definitely where it is at for me these days. I have never felt so energised, aware and in tune with my body and the rhythms of nature.

  371. It is interesting how we think the number of hours we sleep is the important factor, not the time we start sleeping, for example, last night I went to bed at midnight after working a late shift and choosing to eat late and watch TV when I arrived home. I slept in this morning and therefore had my normal total of 6-7 hours but struggled to get out of bed and am still feeling groggy. I know I’ll be out of kilter for the rest of the day. This is my science – the consequences of how I feel in my body when I make choices that are not conducive to good health.

    1. It’s the listening part to our bodies that we need to do … and then responding to the body with what it is asking. Something that is still very much something I am working with, although really this should be quite simple and not take as long as I am making it!!!!

    2. Hi Carmel, there definitely is something in going to bed early and getting the right amount of sleep for us. I have noticed that if I sleep too much I feel very groggy well into the afternoon and then my head clears and this may occur after only having slept in for half an hour longer. So when I get a thought ‘I’m going to have a lie in’, every time I feel groggy and it’s not worth it. I wonder how many people feel like this on a weekend due to having a lie in.

      1. I agree Julie. I too feel groggy if I sleep longer than normal and it can take much longer for me to get going in the day than it does if I get up early. I often get a headache as well which comes on after I have been up for a while. How we prepare and go to bed is so important, as this will then impact on how we sleep and then how we are the next day. Dianne’s blog is very wise and very inspiring.

      2. I’m with you there Julie, if I’m more tired than usual, because I’ve allowed my work precedence over my natural rhythms, a lie in doesn’t work. An ‘early in ‘ does though, I take myself off to bed as early as my body feels to, sometimes well before 8pm, then wake at my normal time the next morning, back in rhythm.

      3. Yes absolutely if we sleep longer than what we need it actually makes us feel worse. I definitely have felt groggy, not clear and alert, from having too much sleep and it really makes the day so much harder than what it needs to be. I love it how we can play around and experiment with ourselves to feel what works and what does not. To kick old patterns that are not supportive by honouring what feels true to ourselves.

    3. We have a very clear marker every morning as to the quality of our sleep, and the quality of the way we lived the day before… Stopping to really feel how this has affected us would reduce coffee consumption world-wide.

      1. Great point Kylie. There is no bigger marker than how you feel the moment you wake up. Any levels of exhaustion are signs that something is amiss and there are many quick fixes to deal with the problems in the short term.

      2. Thats’s a cool point Kylie, I don’t think enough of us associate the quality we wake up in we created the day before, often instead blaming that interim where we were asleep. But it’s a fascinating question – what might we have done yesterday that resulted in us feeling the way we do when we wake up.

    4. So true Carmel. At the weekend I was up late after a family birthday celebration and found I was really slow the next day, whereas last night I got to bed early and have achieved so much more already and it’s 0930! I am beginning to truly realise that my body is wiser than my mind, but still find it challenging sometimes to break the old habits of staying up later than 9pm.

      1. It’s like we are doing our own scientific experiment and when we can feel the benefits enough times, going to bed early is a no brainer.

      2. Yes the ‘morning feelings’ are a important marker. If time would not exist, our bodies would align naturally to the bigger rhythms of the universe. Only we humans do think that we can ignore that fact that all is known and the body is showing it all to us, all the time. What I have learned throughout the years is that getting more myself out of the way to be aligned with my body has helped me a lot to find back to that given universal rhythm that every being on this planet earth knows instinctively and naturally.

    5. So true Carmel, this echos my experience of shift work and going to bed late. I know that I can’t eat late, even if I have to stay up late and I can’t do anything stimulating when I get home. I know that, regardless of the number of hours I sleep, I always feel better when I am in bed before 9pm. It is about quality of sleep, not quantity.

    6. Carmel, great to read your honest self assessment, I have really noticed the difference starkly this week when I have created quiet time before bed and really wound it down and when I have been doing tasks or distracting myself online prior to bed. So I am finding not just the early to bed but also the quality in what I am doing is of the utmost importance. This effects greatly the quality of the sleep and also how much sleep I will end up needing.

    7. It took me a while to feel how much sleep I had was not the important factor but the quality of that sleep was and this article shows precisely why the quality of our sleep declines so much when we go to sleep after 9pm.

    8. When I have a late night from working, I use it as an excuse to stay in bed a bit longer than I need to the next morning. Bed is such a comfy place that it can get indulgent if I don’t use the time to truly rest.

    9. Carmel I love how you have said that this is your science. Imagine if we all understood that we can conduct our own scientific experiment just by observing our own bodies rather than reading something ‘out there’ in a journal.

  372. Thank you Dianne, this was very interesting to read. I can say for sure that my day is far better and I feel more energized when I have been in bed before 9pm the night before.

    1. Heidi when I reflect back on how boring I thought people where who went to bed early, or children who had to be in bed by 7pm, I now realise actually they were the smarter ones, as my days are so completely different with an early bed, rise early and I have time and space in the morning rather than the frantic/anxious/stressful morning rush. Nowadays my body naturally puts itself and me to sleep in the lead up to 9pm and it’s great to see why.

      1. I have always felt better and naturally leaned towards going to be early and getting up early. I have never been one for sleeping in, even after doing late nights when I was at university or working shift work. When I was younger and would go out partying and drinking to the small hours I would always feel really tired and it would be a struggle for me to stay awake late. This research confirms what I have felt in my body all along.

  373. Hippocampus volume loss! how interesting, related to memory loss (hippocampus is the first structure affected in Alzheimers) and related to depression.
    I knew when I was sleeping in the morning, and my rhythm was opposite to organic, that it was not right as I had depression and felt very very sad the next day, but now I know why, so when my friends ask me why I go to bed early, I can tell them: “I don´t want a shrinking hippocampus, thank you very much.”
    Now I am realizing early to bed can save time and money in therapy to so many people, as we are all made equal so we can all choose a fully developed hippocampus, or a shrinking one, we can all have much better emotional stability and joy in our lives without battling with depression. An easy tool to have in our medicine cupboard. Sometimes not so easy as we can resist going to bed early, there is so much wrong conditioning that it is “cool” to stay late, and only old people go to bed early…but once we experience the difference in our body, mind and emotions, it is something we aim to live.

  374. The joy of honouring oneself with early bed times far out ways any other distractions that there may be and brings an aliveness and health to our very livingness and to all medicine.

  375. Diane I just love how you have presented what is going on while I sleep, including the wonderful work of the hippocampus going off to its quiet corner to sort out my day and then its “email conversations” with the cortex. It sounds a very busy time and a full on process, and I get the feeling, from what you have shared, and my own lived experience, that going to bed early can only but assist this process: ie working with my body instead of staying up late and working against it. Thank you for sharing so simply some more of the incredible wisdom of our bodies, which I continue to marvel at.

  376. What this blog confirms to me yet again is that Serge Benhayon is light years ahead in what he presents to this world. He knows about the “optimal cycle, i.e. going to sleep between 9 and 10 pm, sleeping for 7 – 9 hours, and waking up between 5 and 6 am”.
    I know if I knew this in my teens I doubt I would have been a sugarholic.
    Our education system needs to make this sleep science a pre requisite so each child has to learn this and apply. Not only will our kids be more awake, clear and focussed but they will have stronger immune systems and that means less illness, so society benefits in the long term. I am a case study – a living science that claims that this ‘going to bed early business’ is the answer to our super exhausted world AND Serge Benhayon has even more answers to all our world problems. He is well worth studying in every way.

  377. I can share that recently doing aged care work late at night, it is a very different quality of sleep getting to be at 10 or 11pm as opposed to 8 or 9pm. I have to have another sleep during the day, and have less energy for exercise, and food feels like it weighs me down more.

  378. I do shift work and definitely know that the days that I can be in bed by 9 pm support me enormously to then deal with the days when I cannot be. The body is remarkable in this way.

  379. There are many here that have proven the science for themselves and love living the truth of it. However when chatting to people in general about their well-being and ask the question on their chosen sleep cycle the response is often going to bed late. There seems to be some block that gets applied that early to bed, early to rise wisdom doesn’t apply. It’s great to share our experiences and support breaking down consciousness that keep people trapped in a cycle that doesn’t support their well-being and vitality.

  380. Brilliant Dianne, re reading your article has helped me understand so much more about our body’s natural rhythms, and how the best start to self care is start with our bed time routine. Thank you!

  381. Thank you so much Dianne, for a long time now I have struggled to return back into the rhythms I so successfully implemented when I was younger. A constant battle with my brain to stay up just that little bit longer… complete just that little bit more work. I guess I can finally see why it was fighting back so hard… This post has inspired me to try to again be in a rhythm of sleep where I can say I actually feel refreshed when I wake up each morning… that I am more spritely than the last… That “narrow window of opportunity” is one I have left closed for a rather long time, which is not aiding my stress and anxiety I feel very strongly each day. As shown by the time I wrote this comment I haven’t quite got a handle on it yet… but it’s something I’m working towards…

    1. I agree Jaya and the funny thing is that the fight to stay up simply does not make any sense as anything we do at night can be done and dusted in far less time, stress and with far more clarity first thing in the morning.

      1. Exactly! The quality of work is far less the deeper into the night it is done… Waking up early, not only increases the length of your day, but increases the productivity and efficiency of your time expenditure…

      2. It certainly does Jaya, and your body will love you for it, which gives you an even greater quality of energy during your day.

      3. I’ve definitely experienced this first hand, the positive effects I mean… Still struggling with why I continue to push myself to stay up, when I know the consequences of it… Something to ponder on…

      4. Hi Jaya, the struggle is a trick. Better to sleep on it rather than ponder. And best to sleep on it around 9 pm!

      5. Definitely! I think I’m tip-toeing around the fact that that’s what I need to do from now on…

  382. “if the hippocampus is shrinking it’s not going to do its office job so well and as a result, you won’t cope very well with life.” Firstly I love the word ‘hippocampus’ and secondly I love how you make physiology so enjoyable and real. You make science accessible and show us that really, it is just common sense isnt it?

  383. Dianne every time I either listen to you speak or read what you have written I feel enthralled. I adore your child like enthusiasm and it’s that enthusiasm combined with your incredible ability to convey scientific information in a digestible way that makes what you say so accessible and applicable to life.

    1. I agree Alexis. Reading your blogs Dianne you cannot help but feel the total enthusiasm and commitment to what you share. Although it comes from a scientific mind, you make it very practical and accessible to everyone.

  384. Learning to trust the wisdom of our bodies is simply a matter of practise so that as we get surefire results, we build that trust. I get a sense of knowing initially but it is so subtle that my mind can override it, so I experiment and observe, and eventually I find that the initial knowing was spot on. As the trust builds my body will heave a sigh of relief, because with every ‘experiment’ continuing old patterns of living, my body cops it until I eventually get the message e.g. eating that really isn’t good for me (after days of stomach aches, dull head etc)

  385. Thank you so much Dianne, I never knew that my personal sleep rhythm was tied to much bigger planetary cycles and that these are so precise I can’t make up for it later, or at least I don’t get the most from life if I live outside those rhythms. I do feel a bit overwhelmed and my hippocampus and cortex have an extremely important job to do tonight and every night so I must make sure I do all I can to prepare for it because I need every minute.

  386. Going to bed is divine in so many ways, from the quality of my choice in bed linen to the way I lie myself down, all is in honouring the body and the amazing role it plays throughout the night ready for a day of productivity which all contributes to the quality of my being.

  387. The early to bed early to rise regime has quite literally changed my life and will continue to do so even more thanks to your scientific evidence. Thanks Dianne.

  388. Early to Bed early to rise is a great way to live and our bodies are always telling us so, all we have to do is listen. We hold enormous wisdom within and connecting to it is the greatest joy on earth that can be lived. Thank you Dianne for all the science, so simply of what is really going on for us all inside. I love my early bedtimes so much, they are a gift to myself to nurture and appreciate.

  390. Since reading this blog I have placed myself on a science experiment, watching how I put myself to bed, the quality of my sleep, and the quality of the following days. The observations from this time have revealed the will that it takes to choose love over self disregard and irresponsibility.

    1. That’s interesting Shami. It takes dedication and will to make self-loving choices that haven’t been previously lived, but once established it’s easy to maintain. I have found though there is always a deeper level of love to connect to, and then the will it takes to choose the deeper way is really needed. It’s a cycle that keeps going!

  391. Holy gees Dianne, one of the best blogs for sure. It was so great and super interesting to read about. After going to bed early for a while I started to go to bed late for a bit, then started going back to bed early again. The difference was incredible and I straight away felt the difference. You wouldn’t believe the difference that simple change makes… Or maybe you would with all the evidence!

  392. This is indeed a very cool blog Dianne.
    Thank you for highlighting and bringing into focus the benefits of our sleep patterns.
    Going to bed before 9pm and waking when the body naturally feels to makes a huge difference to our quality of life.

  393. When Serge Benhayon has presented on our cycles and in particular the going to bed before 9pm I found it a glorious confirmation of what I had always known worked best for me all-ways. I had got myself in the habit of overriding this feeling particularly by drinking alcohol, eating chocolate and/or salty foods at the time I would naturally feel my body drop and want to go to sleep. I would fight it and still do sometimes, but rarely these days.

    This blog has made me realise to take further note and honour my body’s natural rhythm, which tells me the optimum rhythm for me is to make my way to bed by 8, be in bed, head on the pillow at 8:20pm. Waking time is between 3am and 4am – 6 to 7 hours sleep a night works well for me and I am so much more productive, with a glorious level of consistency through out the whole day. The truth is this rhythm has always worked for me, no matter how much I have tried to deny it and live up to outside expectations. The beauty is I don’t have to be regimented about it either, as that only causes stress. I can be flexible but the rhythm can still be honoured. It truly is a magical thing to experience and I do feel I am aligning with more than just the hands on a clock face.

    1. “I can be flexible but the rhythm can still be honoured.” This is important, because although there is a natural rhythm, each day varies, and therefore so do we in it, what we and our body needs each day varies and it is important that we listen to this.

    2. Great sharing Suzanne, you don’t have to be regimented about it as this does cause stress. But it is more about truly honouring the body in every moment and with that in every day. It does not come from a rule then, but just from listening to what your body is telling you in any particular moment.

  394. Dianne, I just love the way of your presentations of a subject that is common or known to any one of us, but then in addition bringing a deeper insight in a language that we can understand that makes a lot of sense while reading it. I feel it to be such a joy to have an offering that brings a deeper reckoning to this subject, ‘Early to Bed/Early to Rise’ even though I may not be able to repeat the long names of the deeper aspects of our brain’s intricate workings by rote, I can feel the truth in my body. Thank you.

  395. I really got this morning that staying up late to finish a job that could easily be done in the morning is putting ‘doing’ before ‘being’ because it really messes up how I am the next day. I sleep in an extra hour or two and then am in a rush to get out of the door and start my day, which is chaotic as a result. It doesn’t feel great, so going to bed at 9pm is something I am going to experiment with.

    1. Great comment Carmel, and I can totally relate – as many times as I’ve tried it, putting “doing” before “being” has never worked!

    2. Oh Carmel I can recommend it, if I stay up beyond 9 I wake up feeling like I have had a big night out on the town, I feel foggy and hangover symptoms almost. Life flows beautifully if honour this rhythm and my body really reflects this with energy to wake at 4.30 to a full day with plenty of time, space and vitality.
      I can definitely testify to the delights of early to bed early to rise.

  396. Hi Dianne, thank you for helping me understand the actual body science as to why I feel so good in my sleep cycle. Its great to know what is actually physically and physiologically going on in my head (literally) as I sleep. I love and appreciate your passion for science and sharing it with the world.

    1. Yes me too Anna. I found it super cool to understand what is going on in our heads for our sleep patterns. Thank you Dianne for sharing your passion.

  397. When chatting with friends on occasion it comes up in conversation the difference we feel about our own experiences of going to bed ‘early’ or staying up somewhat later. For me if I stay up a bit later I can wake up the next day with my body experiencing a bit of a hangover feeling. This has nothing to do with alcohol (as I don’t partake). What friends are sharing is that they are experiencing the same ‘hang-over’ feeling when they have a later night. It says to me that our bodies are very sensitive to how we treat them. When we override what it is our bodies truly need for optimal vitality they are compromised and the compromise is very quickly relayed through our system to offer warning signals to say, ”hey what are you choosing for us”?

  398. “the amount of sleep required may vary depending on the individual person’s life and what their body truly needs which will be influenced by how they have been living.”
    This is such an important statement because nothing we do is in isolation. What we do in the day has an impact on how we sleep.

    1. And how we wake up in the morning. Have you ever noticed that if you go to bed exhausted you wake up exhausted. Or if you’re angry you wake up angry. Or if you fall asleep whilst in your mind you wake up thinking about things. How we treat our body during the day can affect our sleep and the next day.

      1. Have you had a really huge cry and gone to sleep? The next morning I have felt almost hung over and drained out, it is not until it has been resolved that it shifts – time does not necessarily heal all wounds – it can bury them more deeply in our bodies.

      2. By allowing the body to rest and get a good night sleep this allows us to see more clearly and be less clouded by our thoughts and more in tune with our body and feelings. You’re right nicolesjardin, it’s not until we resolve our issue that it can shift from our body. If we choose not to deal with the issue then we have the choice to bury it in our body which is not good for anyone.

  399. From all that you share here Dianne…in the wider scheme of things, with all that we can ‘do’, how simple a science experiment is the choice to go to bed before 9pm and see how it changes our lives.
    It amazes me how much of a game-changer this simple choice has been in my life!

  400. I love this blog, I have noticed over time that with me consistently going to bed early that I don’t need as much sleep as I use to. I guess all the office work is now up to date!

    1. I’ve noticed this too Natalie. One of my greatest joys is waking up when my body is ready, instead of being told to wake up by an alarm clock.

      1. Yes lindellparlour, that’s a beautiful waking up and surely a sign for the body has done the office-job of the night to then be ready, present and open for what is to be received and to be lived next. I am not used to this way of waking up, but I know it sometimes and it feels not just like being fully equipped for everything to come, but having a foundation of stillness and joy with it. Thank you for you sharing here that you have noticed this change through going to bed early.

      2. Thank you Stefanie. The way I wake up in the morning is a great reflection of how I have been living throughout my day. If I need an alarm clock to wake me then something in my rhythm is out. If I wake up naturally, it tends to be early and if I honour this I tend to get so much done in my day. I work with time instead of against it. Going to bed early is very important for every ‘body’.

  401. I love coming back to this blog early to bed is something we can all test and all feel the results from. So practical to feel what can truly support us.

  402. Everytime I re-read this profound science I think of more and more people who would benefit from the priceless pure gold that this blog offers. Thank You Dianne Trussell are cheap words but it will have to do.
    I love the fact that you talk about the science here but keep it simple so I can understand it and what sticks out is the QUALITY of our sleep is not about how many hours but the actual time we go to bed. Serge Benhayon has talked about this at great length consistently and as I began to apply this to my life things did change in a big way. I now say that if you get the sleep thing right it has an effect on your moods, how you eat and the clarity of your thinking to name a few.
    I recently suggested to an overseas client who has been diabetic for 30 years to look at addressing the sleep issue and ding dong – we have results which will be documented. In just one month his blood sugar count is the best it has ever been and only .5 away from normal blood sugar. That is a miracle indeed. His cholesterol levels are now normal so no medication needed. There is more but you get the picture.
    I am not claiming anything here – just simply saying that sleep and the quality of our sleep can make a huge difference to our health and well-being.

  403. It is amazing the power we have to improve the quality of our lives by making simple changes. Going to bed early is one way of empowering ourselves and not be enslaved by the all the enticements to do the exact opposite. Some people have suggested I’m missing out, I only have to connect to how my lovely my body feels to know this is not true. Going to bed and waking early now feels natural and the other unnatural.

    1. Your comment kehinde2012 struck a chord with me “empowering ourselves and not be enslaved by all the enticements to do the exact opposite”. I value my rhythm with sleep now and have experimented with the difference but can also apply that to exercise which I have avoided and have now realised my body requires to maintain a quality and connection as this is how it communicates with me. So sleep and exercise are now of equal importance in honouring my body and realise I have avoided exercise which is a disconnection.

  404. Diane, what an important, fundamental research and article, especially on the basis and revealed from your own life and the Ageless Wisdom (which is ageless, as you write, because it is “still true now”). A fundamental invitation to re-connect, discover and allow the wisdom of the body to speak and to listen to. Thank you for presenting the bodily facts and connections in such a neat way. It helps me very much to support my body to do it’s office-work during the night.

    1. I love the insight Dianne gave us with the office work as well. Although I always felt in the morning how ordered my mind was, if I went to bed early. What our body does every day and night is truly miraculous and intelligent, if we just let it do it.

      1. I’m blown away with what our bodies do in our very best interest, constantly working to re balance, rectify and harmonise, truly intelligent.

      2. Yes, our bodies are amazing Rosanna, imagine how it will be if we work with them and honour them fully.

  405. Dianne, I love what you have shared here, especially the analogies between the brain and how it processes the day’s events during the night with its crucially timed filing system. I have always been one to go to bed early – in fact there are not many times in my life that I remember going to bed later than 9pm. It is like my body goes into ‘shut down’ mode at 9pm and there is no stopping this process, nothing at all! It has been a family joke for as long as I can recall – if I happened to stay up till 9:15pm, I was told that that I was ‘Raging/Partying’. Fascinating what you have shared also about the shrinking of the hippocampus with going to bed later and also about this as an association with depression. Thank you for sharing the science of sleep in such a palpable and easy to understand way!

    1. Me too. I no longer need a watch in the evening, or really through the day. Without fail every night at 8.40 I feel my body shifting and by 8.45 it has literally shut down. When you surrender to what your body shows you it is a blessing for you are truly shown how to support yourself in a loving livingness.

  406. We can research all the papers written in the whole world, but nothing can surpass the truth we feel in our own bodies – it is exactly tailored for us personally, no exaggeration, no sensationalism, simple, everyday Truth. I stay up late – I feel tired, I go to bed early – I wake up feeling great. Simple. Plus how I tenderly I can live my day – that affects how well I sleep. Our bodies are so beautiful in their wisdom.

    1. Yes, the body does know, it does have an intelligence and wisdom that gives us signals to follow, so early to bed is a sure fine way of servicing and self caring for the body.

    2. And I bet if we searched all the papers and online articles we would find very little written about how our well-being is affected by these choices. Why do we not as a society ask the questions that would lead us to live with greater health and vitality?

      1. Very valid question Jinya. Most do not ask the questions that would lead to greater health and vitality as they are too engrossed and enthralled by their ‘comfortable’ life.

    4. So true Carmel, we are walking around in the most splendid of creations that have a deep wisdom we are only just beginning to acknowledge. The more we pay attention to the simple things in life, the more our bodies appreciate it and repay us in vitality and health. Going to bed early certainly makes for a much more vital and prosperous day than staying up late just for the sake of it. And now Dianne has added the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ and it all makes perfect sense.

  407. Diane, this research is amazing. I love to understand how it works and it gives me a deep appreciative understanding how amazing our bodies work. Thank you for this insight.

    1. I really love how Dianne makes science easy and relatable to all. Actually she doesn’t just make it easy but really interesting and so fascinating. I would have Loved to have her as my science teacher at school.

  408. The science of early to bed really needs to be shared and truly appreciated in the world where current trends and ways have no respect of this. When talking to people so many share this knowing and way of living naturally and so many others are in direct conflict of this and a real divide in the world and separation occurs. A new normal is being set and it really is worth responding to for all our health and well being.
    Thank you Dianne for this great blog.

  409. Reading your beautiful words Dianne confirm what I am beginning to feel, and that is that science is not something difficult or way out there that I cannot understand – it is simple and wonderful and is all out there for me to understand once I am willing to let go and let science work its magic in my life.

  410. In the last paragraph of this blog Dianne Trussell talks about science being a lived experience, with no formal education required to understand it. With this we can clearly see that we are each potentially the masters of our own science, and all it takes is a willingness to observe how our bodies respond to the choices we make.

    1. Well said Shami. My body has always been super sensitive to sleep and its patterns – I am forever grateful to Dianne for clearly explaining the science behind what I have innately always known but often have overridden. Never again – a super commitment now to being early to bed.

    2. This is so related to our lack of self-worth in modern society. Exactly because we do not treat and honour our bodies for the Amazing piece of science they are, we actually can not but lack self-worth. Because our bodies are in-truth our radars, our compass, our knowing. Without the connection to our bodies we are lost. So let the body decide when it wants to go to sleep. And it will naturally tell when. This can differ from day to day and is never a rule or a belief. I am in the process of accepting my own body and being intimate with it. The more intimate I am with my body, the better. In the sense that my body just loves being cared for, nurtured and touched.

  411. As the old saying goes ” Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – could the truth be that the wealth is not of monetary value, but the wealth of love in our inner-heart?

  412. I feel very content and still when I listen to my body. Rather than overriding it with my head, with: “Oh I’ll just do this and this before bed”, then in truth I end up not having a great quality of sleep, I wake up tired or stressed, but this is also the impact of how I have been living during the day. When I honour my body and listen, and go to bed when naturally tired, my body is gratefully thankful and I feel much more refreshed.

  413. “Do you find it difficult committing to a routine, quitting addictions, having enough energy, maintaining a positive attitude, staying emotionally stable, managing your moods, harmonizing with other people, remembering things, learning how to do new stuff, and/or changing behaviour when you realise that how you’ve been isn’t working?” I have no doubt many people across the world would answer yes to this – and much more – and be super surprised at the simple answer of going to bed early. Why? because we are sold so many solutions, pills, self help books, ideas and quick fixes for all of these – the world, governments and health systems could save millions – even more so than this the health and well being of people could change by making such a simple choice.

    1. Agreed gylrae…it is almost too simple as a remedy for so many symptoms and conditions experienced by many these days…even children at school. It does take self-responsibility and self-love to put it in place, to change possibly decades of habits of staying up late for entertainment, work, socialising, etc.

    2. The same thing occurred to me gylrae; this sleep rhythm is so important for general health, and Mental health, it would certainly be of great benefit to everyone if they paid heed to this study and participated in a natural rhythm in tune with nature. It would take a lot of pressure off our overloaded medical systems.

  415. Having always been a night owl and clearly denying my connection to our whole Cosmos (wow!), I would say yes, I am way more stable, able to make fundamental changes, be open to others and able to learn new ways of being. And the effect of a late night is becoming more devastating, to the point where if I can at all help it, it is not optional!

  416. Pretty cool Dianne, I love the way you have fun with science and make it easy. And show us, coming from someone who has done all the study, that listening to the science of the body is all that is required to know the truth of something.

    1. How incredible the body is – a wise roadmap. I love how Diane presents that science is simply confirming a living truth we deeply know and has been around for aeons- ‘early to bed, early to rise…’

      1. I love that description Deborah – the body is just like a road map. An internal compass returning us back to truth.

    2. I agree Emma and as one who never got what science was about at school, I am now all ears when Dianne talks and makes it so much fun and easy to understand. To realise that the science of the body knows all, is like opening a gift wrapped present every day of the year.

    3. This is such a great point you make Emma, “that listening to the science of the body is all that is required to know the truth of something” and how Dianne shares this so beautifully.

    4. It really is that simple and how great to feel that this is the case. Simple yet clear, and for the most part we can just stop and take note of what our bodies are communicating, once we have established a relationship with them.

    5. There’s nothing quite like a scientist who has well and truly found god. What they produce thereafter is an absolute joy and treasure to read as are your words Diane.

      1. I agree Sandra, going to bed early sets you up for a vibrant, energised day that supports you with anything that comes your way. Less dipping into your emotions and more tapping into into our innate wisdom.

    4. I agree Susan. A wonderful confirmation and thank you for all the work that has been completed in the day.

    5. And it is so beautiful to have time not to rush into the bed, but wind down and go totally relaxed into sleeping.

  418. “If you go to sleep much after 9 pm, you miss out on the ‘narrow window of opportunity’, the quiet time in which your brain can do the crucial first lot of work it has to, to get ready for the later work of the night and for tomorrow”. It never fails to amaze me how the body just ‘knows’ this, even if we have never learnt the science.

    1. Absolutely Anne, our bodies are the most intelligent science and there for us to read anytime. The best ever audio-visual book going! ‘Stroll on’ Amazon – nothing to compare!

    2. I agree – our body is a living science – infinite feedback and wisdom for each and every choice we make, precisely so.

    3. Although our minds do not know, our body always does. This is a fact I am still learning to abide by.

      1. Beautifully said Jenny and something so true for me too. My body is a steady and honest marker of where I am at. As much as I may try to override this with my mind, it always comes back to my body.

    4. Our bodies are fascinating and extremely Intelligent, we do not give it half the credit it deserves. Our bodies are a living science a living miracle, there is so much we still don’t know about our body, science is still catching up.

      1. Isn’t it amazing Amita, we are with our bodies 24/7 and I’ve had mine for 42 years yet I know very little about how my body works internally. Thankfully we have Dianne who can explain the scientific side of things simply for us all to learn and understand.

    5. Agreed Jane, and what an amazing place to be to listen to the body. It really does make the most amazing difference to life in general. Enjoying being in your body because you choose to look after it is a revelation and one that we all should know to our core.

    6. Absolutely Jane and Anne – listening to my body and taking notice of what I feel and hear from it, would have to be the No. 1 ability that I cherish the most … without this, I’m left to rely on outside knowledge that can at best be a general guide only.

    7. This is true Anne and thank you for highlighting it. Our bodies know it all, and it is for us to adhere to this knowing – which is the real aim – surrendering to the body and what is true for it.

    8. I’ve had that experience too Jane, driving and wondering where to go and my body knew exactly where to go. This was when I began to appreciate that my body knows more than my mind. Since then I have been learning to listen to my body and the things I accomplish are truly rewarding.

    9. We are pilots of the most amazing vehicles, Anne. The things that our bodies do without us knowing are astounding, but then there are the things that they do and let us know about it. It is just up to us if we decide to listen.

    11. I agree Anne, Jane and All. The intelligence of my body feels so massive compared to what I thought I knew from my mind. It is taking some practice in becoming familiar with the voice of my body again after so long listening to the voice of my mind, but oh my goodness, it is worth the practice. My body has so much gold to share! When I honour what it has to say, life unfolds in a magical way.

    12. I agree Anne, it’s amazing how our bodies work and how every night they prepare us for the next day. There is such an amazing order and majesty to what our bodies do behind the scenes.

  419. Thank you Dianne for bringing an understanding to why our bodies behave as they do and it also confirms how and why I feel as I do and that honouring this mechanism is definitely the way to go 🙂

  420. Most of us know that going to bed early has its benefits as the saying goes ‘One hour’s sleep before midnight is worth two after’ yet so many of us find it difficult to commit to this routine. I used to feel that while I was working during my day I would look forward to watching my favourite TV program in the evening as a reward, comforting me for what I had done during the day. I no longer watch TV in the evenings and I am in bed by 9pm most nights. Without a shadow of a doubt, I wouldn’t go back to my old way of going to bed late, as going to bed early has such an impact on my well being.

  421. It is true that our bodies know this already and mine has been telling me for years not to stay up past 9 -10 o’clock, as I would be asleep in the chair by 8 o’clock every night. Also over the years I have noticed how dull I feel if I sleep in too long and after being up for about an hour I will have developed a headache – happens every time without fail. Getting the sleeping right is something to pay attention to, because it can drastically effect our moods and how we interact with people and how we apply ourselves when at work.

  422. If I push beyond my tiredness to stay up later to finish something my body suffers the next day no matter how many hours sleep I have…my bodies way of telling me that I am not honouring its natural rhythms.

  423. Thanks Dianne…everything you say makes sense and great to know that science agrees with my pwn personal experiences.

  424. Thank you for telling the world that my early nights are for a good reason! I can’t live without them and absolutely cherish those early to bed nights.

  425. There is a huge difference in the level of energy I have during the day and the way I feel when I listen to my body and go to sleep around 9 pm and get up early. Of course when we choose to drink alcohol the messages our body sends us cannot be felt until the next morning.

  426. This is a great confirmation of what our bodies already know naturally. I love the way you make science easy to understand and the confirmation your blog offers on the benefits of going to bed early.

  427. ‘Go to bed early! It can change your life.’ I completely and wholeheartedly agree. It feels nourishing and deeply caring of ourselves when we do so. And this is coming from me, someone who used to boast about being a night owl.

  428. Do we have the arrogance that we are masters of the universe? We must, if the whole sleep rhythm that has been finely tuned for all living things that has been running for millenniums… and we chose to change it because it doesn’t fit in the way we want to live? Science aside, going to bed just feels right for me and who am I to question thousands of years of development? Children and old people all seem to follow the natural rules of sleep… the body knows.

  429. Going to bed early has changed my life! I have observed how I wake early in the morning without an alarm feeling fully rested and equipped to start my day. I have also observed that I am less emotional and because I am less emotional I do not need any stimulants to get me through the day like sugar and coffee. Sleep – it is not wise to underestimate the importance of quality sleep and to give our body the proper rest it deserves after all it has done for us during the day. And when we respect this, respect our bodies, during the night our bodies continue to work for us by balancing and clearing anything we have taken on that is not ours. Oh the intelligence and wisdom of our bodies is a science in itself.

    1. Such a great point jacqmcfadden04 that the effect on early to bed has positive repercussions that ripple out into everyday life – like being less reactive or emotional to situations that crop up in the day. I can definitely say that early to bed has far wider effects than simply meaning I’m not tired!

  431. I love the bit about this being a retrospective study because your body knew it already. When I read your article it was a confirmation of what I already live with great benefits. This is supportive and inspiring writing and I love to hear how things are working in my brain through the night.

  432. Deeply appreciating also Dianne, your statement on the ‘science results’ being ‘retrospective’. Many, many people have been living in accord to such a natural cycle that truly respects our bodies for many years, thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. The living proof already exists, and yes, also that it may not even be 7 or 8 hours sleep that we end up needing – once we have truly established and committed to a way of honouring these natural cycles and a way of life that overall, is committed to making everything about love – bottom line.

    1. That is true Victoria we are sold on the fact that we need 7 or 8 hours sleep, yet they forget to mention that the best time to go to bed to truly regenerate is 9pm. I know when I go to bed early I naturally wake up early and I can complete many more tasks with out pressure early in the morning than I can in the afternoon or in the evening. There is a natural cycle and rhythm and when we adhere to it, life flows and the peaks and troughs of our day no longer happen.

      1. This is exactly the lived experience that ‘science results’ will one day catch up on Alison. I used to think it was ‘plain wrong’ to get up before the sun did… that concept has today been completely smashed, along with so many others around sleep and the rhythms and timing that can truly work for us.
        There is just so much to be shared in this regard – and so many people’s lives now standing as the true science and living proof of what is possible when we align to such natural cycles that honour our bodies.

  433. A fabulous and truly educational article Dianne Trussell, thank-you. This deserves to be published far and wide.
    I love this truth: “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try).”
    Just what are we messing with – and expecting to get away with – by not honouring such a natural cycle? You have eloquently equated going to bed consistently ‘late’, with any other clearly abusive and self-harming practice, such as smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol.
    A sobering call, yet one that clearly can only offer the greatest benefit. Thank-you.

  434. Anyone who doubts the truth of what Dianne has presented here has got to try going to bed early and feel it for themselves.

  435. Our ducks and chickens know this science, they put themselves to bed so consistently, and cuddle up with each other on their perches! Sometimes during the day they engage in their pecking order behaviours, and squark at each other, but as the sun sets they forget all their gripes and take themselves off to bed. Thank you for presenting a scientist’s understanding about sleep patterns Dianne, and how awesome that our bodies already know this science. Since choosing to go to bed at 9pm I have noticed how refreshed I feel when I wake early, and I really enjoy the quiet early morning hours now.

  436. This is an awesome article offering the science behind what I know for myself is true, that going to bed early makes me feel better. Often when I chat to people they find it difficult to fathom that I go to bed by 8.30 – 9pm but it really is one of the secrets to feeling vital the following day. I no longer feel like I am missing out when I go to bed early, which I did for a long time. I love putting myself lovingly to bed knowing that a good night rest leaves me refreshed for the next day.

    1. I love going to bed 8.30 – 9pm because like Donna I feel so much better the next day and my family don’t get the grumpy Caroline that they used to get when I went to bed late. Even going to bed at 10pm on the odd occasion has an impact on me the next day in that I can feel a little more tense in my body.

  437. Each time I read this Dianne, I get a greater sense of just how important getting to bed around 9pm is and just the magnitude of change that could take place if more people took this on as something important. It is not only life changing for individuals, it is life changing for families and communities in that exhaustion, depression and other conditions you’ve mentioned would decrease. It is no longer just a ‘good idea’ to go to bed early, it is a scientifically proven fact that going to be late is like ingesting poison into the body because it doesn’t allow the body to do what it needs to do for optimal health.

  438. Most people think of sleep as what we do when we are tired at the end of our day, but Dianne you have clearly presented that sleep is a science and medicine for our bodies as it truly supports us to be more of who we are.

  439. I find it fascinating the way our sleep is connected to bigger cycles of the earth and the planets so it makes perfect sense to tune in to our bodies more and connect to the wisdom within that has been known for aeons. Thank you Dianne another awesome blog.

  440. A brilliant blog Dianne, thank you for what you’ve shared, it makes so much sense. I used to go to bed late and wake up late with 8 to 9 hours of sleep, and I would feel tired and grumpy. I couldn’t face getting out of bed but the more I slept the worse I felt. Over 2 years ago, I started something I never thought I could stick to. I changed my diet, I cut out gluten, dairy, sugar and caffeine. Naturally I started going to bed early and I am usually asleep around 8pm and wake up 3-4am. With this I feel so much more energised, more clarity and less stressed. I no longer feel moody, heavy or agitated. The changes I have experienced has been profound, reading your blog really confirms how going to bed early can really change your life, it certainly has changed mine. This has been inspire by everyone I’ve met at Universal Medicine, both teachers and students. I am deeply grateful, my life is now so much more joyful and harmonious, and it is absolutely incredible.

  441. Deep down we all know these truths and the fact that science supports it shows there is not one reason we should ignore this, and if we are it because of a lack of self-care and self-worth to look after ourselves.

  442. I love learning about how the body works. Thanks Dianne for explaining the science behind why going to bed early is a life changing loving choice.

  443. Dianne thank you for filtering the truth out of all these scientific documents and presenting it to the world in a way that you simply cannot go around it. It is amazing how much is already proven and yet we manage to find our way around this information. This should be front page news and part of education as following the very deliberate and purposeful cycles and rhythms of our bodies would make a huge impact on humanities health and well being.

    1. Great point Carolien. This should definitely be front page news, and included in every school syllabus too! This information is total gold, and has the potential to change the lives of millions.

  444. I have conversations with many people who are incredulous when they hear about my ‘early to bed early to rise’ sleep rhythm. It is beyond many people’s imaginations to wake up by choice between 3 and 5am, as it was beyond mine a couple years ago. It does sound quite bonkers to someone who is used to a rhythm that is about using the evenings for other life activities outside work. I don’t miss any of the stuff I used to do like checking out in front of the TV or computer. The result is that I feel so much more lovely in a body that feels taken care of.

    1. Those early morning hours are so precious, now if I’m up at 6am I feel like half the day is gone! What’s incredible is I have always been way more productive in the morning, now I just get more morning time! What could be better than that!

  445. So it is really that easy … just go to bed early 💕 What if everyone tried this experiment for 2 weeks! I bet there would be some amazing changes.

  446. I am so glad this has been written up scientifically, it’s so important to understand how our body works at its best. It’s no accident the sun goes down, and our bodies tire at the end of the day, telling us it’s time to go to sleep.

    1. I always adored being in countries with no electricity where there was no option other than to feel your body and surrender to nature and the natural cycles within. When we listen to our own rhythms and those of nature we are shown a supportive and natural way of living.

      1. Likewise Jenny – I am always pulled to going to bed when it gets dark and waking up with the light – no alarm, just listening to my body. Of course not as easy in the UK, but I know that as I deepen my rhythm of sleeping, I don’t need an alarm to know when it feels right to wake up.

    2. No accident for sure, Felicity. We are actually part of the planet, solar system and Universe, and meant to harmonize with them, but my how many of us seem to forget that simple fact if sleep time is anything to go by!

      1. That is beautiful Dianne, in reminding us of the interconnectedness of all things, you remind us of the grandness we naturally are.

    3. It is so interesting to observe our pets, other animals and nature follow a natural rhythm, yet so many of us would not acknowledge that we too have a natural rhythm. A huge majority of us live completely out of rhythm, totally out of whack with our cycles. I agree Felicity, it makes so much sense to understand how our body works. This blog explains it so well and it allows me to appreciate how important it is for us to be in tune with our rhythms and cycles and to live it.

  447. I find it interesting how so many of us do the opposite of what our body actually needs. I used to think at times that I would miss out on my day (or my favourite TV programs) if I went to bed early, but I would be so tired I wouldn’t be able to stay up anyway. It’s a great feeling to unwind at the end of the day and get a good night’s rest.

    1. I agree with you Susan when you say “… so many of us do the opposite of what our body actually needs.” Springs to mind the time in one large hotel, when we had been travelling and this one country we visited did not start serving the evening meals until about 8.00-9.00 p.m., after the people having rested for several hours in the afternoon – we even watched the proceedings of a wedding party that commenced about midnight, and was just warming up at 1.00 a.m., and in full swing at 2.00 a.m. We had already had some sleep and on our way to a large international airport trying to make our way through chaotic streets that were hugely busy with honking horns and all the local people, families, children enjoying the evening air at 3.00 a.m. – quite an eye-opener. So I wonder how their sleep rhythms would truly work as far as understanding how the spleen activates at re-vitalizing the body during a certain period of the night. Interesting to observe.

    2. Yes, I remember that I used to feel/ think that I was missing out. The only time I miss out now is when I stay up beyond what my body is telling me… missing out on a great night’s sleep.

    3. I used to regularly fall asleep on the couch before 9 anyway, and then wakeup feeling like a loser for not being able to stay awake. Now I do what feels right for my body and just go to bed – makes much more sense.

  448. I agree Katinka, to teach that our body is our greatest teacher would change everything from the ground up, it would bring a new way in all aspects of life.

  449. I enjoy getting into the office early so I can organise files and projects and begin my day in an easy way. The way you describe our body’s activity as being like filing and decluttering makes it so simple for me to understand and to commit to giving it a helping hand. As I write this it feels like my hippocampus is having a party. Thank you for bring science to life Dianne.

  450. I love the way that you explain science Dianne. You make it so easy to understand. It is not surprising that there is a science behind going to bed early as it obviously works.

    2. I agree Elizabeth, Dianne’s blog is simply brilliant, so easy to understand and extremely fascinating!

    3. I agree Elizabeth, Dianne does make science interesting, fun and accessible for all of us – thank you Dianne.

      1. That’s really conjured up an image for me to remember to share for those I know who live in their head from their known ‘intellect’ – how amazing to be able to speak about ‘going to bed early being actually a science’ – that’s something to remember at the next dinner party.

  451. It has certainly been my experience that going to bed earlier, around 9pm has been immensely beneficial for my health, but also crucial is how I have been in the day that then allows that filing system to do its job properly. As Dianne says we can look to the research to show us these benefits, but we innately know what is right or our bodies and that although it is not embraced on a social level, early to bed has everything going for it in shaping better health.

    1. It’s super cool to see that the research supports what I know was right for me anyway. Sometimes the research needs to catch up with the obvious.

  452. Reading your blog again Dianne, I was struck by how many of our less than positive behaviours you feel can be changed by simply going to bed early and the research supports this. I mean who would link quitting addictions with going to bed early? But when you so simply lay out the workings of hippocampus (love that word), brain cortex and cortisol it all makes sense. So informative and fun to read.

    1. Agreed Josephine. Who said that science was boring? Dianne presents us a living science, totally relatable to our everyday lives – as it should be. Love it !

    3. I agree Josephine, it definitely makes sense and I love the way Dianne makes this research available to us all. I very much enjoy her light, simple and easy way she explains the wisdom of our bodies, this is fascinating to read time after time.

  453. Serge Benhayon didn’t study medicine and he found out all about going to bed early long ago. What does this tell us about our true intelligence and where we are at with using it vs. dumping in it? Because, really, Serge Benhayon doesn’t have a different magical super body compared to ours, he simply listens to it with precision and love for detail.

    1. That’s it Felix. Our bodies are communicating with us – constantly….. Are we listening?
      And what a great blessing to have such simple truths presented to us by Serge Benhayon for so many years now – for clearly we’ve been numbing ourselves and doing our darnedest to block the communication from our bodies for so very long…. Phew.
      And how truly profound are the changes in our everyday lives, and how we feel, when we do start taking the steps TO listen.
      I feel more vital alive heading into my later 40’s now, than I did at 20 – now that’s saying something.

  454. Our body does know everything. The more we listen, the more it will talk to us. We feel in our bodies what will be beneficial for us or what won’t work. The more we trust in this and live according to our body’s knowing, the easier our lives will become.

    1. This is totally true Michael, and our bodies has a way of expressing everything that does not work or feel right and having a deep relationship with our bodies has been an amazing development and one that I cherish each and every day.

    2. Trust in our bodies, rather than in the so called “norms” of society. Society says if you want to be cool stay up late, but my body says go to be early.

  455. Dianne you are super cool – I love how you can present the science of our bodies in such a simple, relatable way. I got so much from your article and now have a much clearer understanding of and appreciation for the amazing intricacies at play in my body and why I always feel so much better when I listen to my body and have an early night 😉

  456. The Ancient Wisdom which Serge Benhayon’s teachings come from, is common sense, all known already. Maybe science could start experimenting on the Ancient Wisdom, start exploring it, it could change the face of science forever. Because from my perspective basically science actually can be found to confirm the Ancient Wisdom, all knowing of the Laws of the Universe, energy and how that plays in the life. Playful suggestion.

  457. I loved this article Dianne, I often cannot hold attention when it comes to reading scientific research, but you have the ability to make it readable and understandable for the average lay person like myself. I have completely changed my sleeping patterns following the rhythm of early to bed, early to rise which has changed my life.This is enough evidence for me, my own experience and I see that as my authority. I experimented with this as I was inspired by the works of Serge Benhayon, he brings common sense and the obvious, which the Ancient Wisdom is…the scientific information comes after and that only confirms what has already been lived, known and works. Amazing!

  458. It is amazing how we know so little about how our body functions. What does this say about our education, why the focus on so many other things while this is what comes first: our health and wellbeing? Of course we don’t have to study this from books, our body is our greatest teacher, but we need to bring awareness to this as it seems to be long forgotten.

    1. It’s crazy we don’t understand such fundamentals of how our body works, we really do need to get such basic things in order, so that our foundations are right to begin with. I wonder how we would go about our days if we took care of this.

      1. Yes my body is my greatest teacher and it’s messages are becoming clearer, which just shows me that my body cares for me deeply and asks for the same level of love in return.

  459. I struggled for ages with going to bed earlier than 11pm although I could feel my body loved it, because most of the socialising and TV programs that I liked happened after 9pm. But after trying out 9pm bed time, I could no longer pretend there was no difference in how I felt. Whenever I reverted back to the later times I felt awful and less clear the following day- or for longer if I had really pushed it! Slowly I came to the conclusion that it is just not worth it. If I want to socialise, I can find a time and scenario that honours me as well as the other people, and no TV program is worth me feeling awful the following day.

    1. I found the same Golnaz, whenever I stay up super late watching tv or socialising I never wake up feeling vibrant and refreshed the next day – usually I wake up feeling groggy and want to sleep in. As you say it is not worth it. Far better go to bed when the time feels right and then if needed wake up a little earlier – it is amazing how much you can get done in the morning and usually it is productive things!

      2. I can relate to that James, the later I slept the worse I felt in the morning. Now going to bed earlier really supports my body, I feel amazing and am so more productive in my day. I have more clarity and feel so much refreshed.

    2. It is a great point you make here Golnaz as there really is a huge ideal that all the fun happens at night time and so much of the world are in a un-natural rhythm and yet we all start with this natural rhythm when we are children and so we do know it very well.

    3. I can super relate to that Golnaz! I used to ‘excuse’ my 10/11pm bedtime with, ‘But it’s IMPOSSIBLE to talk to people before 9pm, I just HAVE to stay up otherwise I’ll have NO friends’, and although I knew it was a lie I did a pretty good job of convincing myself and others of it haha! I now realise how disregarding that was to me and my body.

    4. After reading this comment it has affirmed to me again that innately we really do know. Even though I regarded myself as a night owl, talking to people or taking calls beyond 8pm-9pm never felt right to me. It always naturally felt like wind down time to me, however back then I rarely honoured it. I am ever thankful to Serge Benhayon for helping us see and feel the truth of honouring our bodies.

  460. I don’t need the research to back this up. I know how great I feel when I get to bed before 9pm. When I stretch it out later, I feel tired the next day and am less engaged in whatever I am doing. It is lovely to know that there is a precise natural rhythm that I can play ball with, which can only benefit my wellbeing.

    1. Absolutely Fiona, I am my own authority from my own experience of what actually is true and supports me…science can confirm what is already known. We are much more knowing that we realise or want to know. There seems to be a sense of ownership of knowledge in different fields and it if can’t be proven then it is wrong, not correct, untrue. Well the greatest truth is my experience of how I live my life. It’s simple – my body shows me if I have made choices to harm it or choices to care for it and the body will respond accordingly. Common sense!

    2. This is my experience too, Fiona. It is about making loving choices and when we make them our bodies feel the joy and the benefits.

  461. I love your easy to understand explanation Dianne. It was always clear to me that my kids always needed to go to bed early to function grow and develop into healthy adults, but I often ignored my own body, telling me I also need to go to bed early to support my own body.

    1. It’s true Margaret, we apply this common sense to our children, but completely ignore it when it comes to our adult bodies and choices in life. Why do we see staying up late as a prerogative of being an adult, when it clearly does not support our health and wellbeing? Seems a bit daft to me. Falling asleep on the couch in front of the TV at 9pm is a pretty clear indication from our bodies of what they would prefer to be doing. Learning to listen to and honour that message has been the best thing I have done for myself in many years and Dianne’s article provides a beautiful explanation of why we benefit so much from the simple idiom of “Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy and wise”.

  462. This first question also leaves me aware of how so many of us don’t go to bed when our bodies are calling to, and how many of our tensions could simply be eased with this simple self loving choice!

    1. I agree, Michelle. there seem to be often so many other more important things to do. Thank you Dianne. It is amazing to have this truth written down from a scientist.

      1. That is a great point Kerstin, in that having this expressed from a scientist, as it show us that scientist or not, we know all the answers inside our own bodies.

  463. Confirming that true research comes from a livingness, a way of living that has become all that the body knows and is based on its wisdom, impulse and direction for the true good (love) and harmony of ourselves and in relation to everything else and all others.

    1. That’s a great way to say it Cherise, true research does come from a livingness, indeed a way to be in life that supports the body and gives it a voice in decision making.

  464. If, as seem obvious from reading this informative blog, we have much to gain for our health by going to bed early, it makes me question why this is not promoted more readily. Why is our science and medicine not using this as a tool to aid the recovery and health of patients. Is it cynical to say that there is no profit in this advice, and that medicine is driven purely by profit and has quite lost its way. Thanks Dianne for explaining this scientific material so simply for easy digestion, early to bed it is.

    1. I do know what you mean Stephen. We all know with children that they behave so much better when they go to bed at a sensible time, yet somehow this concept is generally missed when we grow up! I found a lot of it comes down to the pressure to be socially active late at night, it is like we want to cram as much into the day as possible instead of feeling the day is complete. This begs the question, are we giving our all during the day and fully committing to life and what is there to be done or are we holding back and so feeling we have not done enough at the end of the day and so feel we want to make up somehow or fit more in? I know I found this and would end up watching TV till all hours even when I felt exhausted!

      1. I know people (and I used to do this too) who even when they are really tired will not go to sleep early but force themselves to stay up later which is crazy. Why do we do this?

      2. It is mad Vicky, there is a term for it FOMO, Fear of Missing Out – I know I had it, so at parties I would often be the last one to leave or go to bed just in case I missed out on something! Crazy really.

      3. So true James. We seem to resist going to bed in order to get everything done. I find that if I go to bed when I’m tired and get up early I can get everything done in the morning when I feel fresh and vital. I find this is a better way round.

      4. Yes James, i’ve certainly many times tried to squeeze as much into the day as possible, often as a reaction to feeling that I needed or deserved more leisure time. Quite silly really as it just meant that I lost out the next day with feelings of tiredness. Less heed should be given to the time it is and more to the feelings from the body, tiredness in the evening means wind down and early to bed.

    3. I know from living that way myself Vicky, that once we go past a certain time, for me it is 9pm, it is really difficult to get to sleep. It’s that ‘second wind’ that we talk about.

      I broke the cycle by getting up earlier so that I could have a full and committed day so that I would actually be tired by 7 or 8pm. It feels so amazing to live this way but it doesn’t happen overnight (pun intended!). It takes consistency, commitment and a deepening honour and value of ourselves to make this change.

      To then construct social activities in the day rather than at night and letting go of the attachment to night time socialising, which is easy when you feel how good you feel… and how messy and uncommitted we are when we have a late night ‘hang over’.

  465. Thank you Dianne for such a clear presentation of science confirming what we truly feel inside – a great blessing for us all. Something tangible and real to share and live by, which is beautiful and expansive for us all.

    1. Yes Tricia, it is important in nowadays world, that the experience we have as Universal Medicine students is backed up by science. As science is, next to mainstream religion, the source where people are influenced by and listen to. If something scientifically has been shown to help, to have it to be considered as a truth by the mainstream of humanity. And when we will have more scientists as Dianne, that would help enormously. So let us all become scientists of our own life and share our experience with the Universal Medicine modalities with the world, as we must not keep it privately – this has to be shared because that is what our true nature is.

      1. Yes science confirming the science of our bodies. So clearly expressed I’ve got a greater understanding now. Thank you Dianne.

  466. Dianne, your first question shows just how much of our ordinary daily function is affected by our sleep rhythm, in fact my experience is that it is in constant relationship to the choices I make during the day. How I live and the care I take of myself (or not) through the day affects the way I take myself to bed….that relates to the quality I go to sleep in… how that sleep is for me… how I wake to then engage in the next day. Going to bed early is a lovely consistency that I find hugely supportive.

    1. Everything we do is affected by our sleep rhythm and everything that happens is because of our choices to be loving and supportive or not. The consistency is a marker and a key for me that I am continuing to embrace in my life and surrender to the absolute benefits and enormous healing that it brings.

  467. I love the scientific role of the ‘hippocampus’ and how it works with time. Our bodies are one amazingly sophisticated network, working in perfect alignment and timing. If we listen to the wisdom that is offered nothing is left to chance – fantastic Dianne.

    1. “…if we listen to the wisdom that is offered nothing is left to chance”. This is very poignant. Our bodies are a beautifully connected system with an order that supports its function. It is no coincidence that the elements within work like this, relating and communicating to each other at all times. Our bodies are there to support us in all that we do if we care for them with equal love and respect.

  468. Yes, going to bed early really does change your life. It changed mine for the absolute better. I love my early nights and use the early mornings to get things done when I feel refreshed rather than tired at the end of the day.

  469. Irony. I have spent a few years now removing the walls of my man cave and at the same time sleep with the cycle of the sun. My life span if put into the cycle of a day is well past noon and I am enjoying every golden sunset.

  470. I love how you share Dianne that we are part of much greater rhythms and cycles in the Universe, so thinking we can go to bed late and sleep longer and that that will be the same as going to bed earlier and waking earlier just does not work. I love feeling how we are part of a greater rhythm and that there are some facts we just cannot ignore.

  471. Thanks Dianne. I know that what you are saying here is correct, as it is my lived experience. From someone who used to refuse to go to bed before midnight I can definitely say that it works to go to bed early.

  472. Thank you Dianne, what an awesome article! A combination of scientific fact for the slightly sceptical along with scientific fact from yours and many other bodies’ lived experience! I can absolutely vouch for having a much more rested sleep when I’m asleep by 9pm. 8:30pm is proving to be even more beneficial. Often people have trouble getting their head around my sleep cycle but I just tell them, I’m getting the same amount as them, I’m just working to a different time zone – it’s the same, just different….and in my experience, better.

  473. Brilliant Dianne. What you offer is facts based fact – by which I mean you are presenting what the body already knows – which is a fact – backed up with scientific knowledge for those who are yet unwilling to accept that the body will always tell you what it needs to function at its utmost capacity. When and how we sleep is immensely important, and as you said, this wisdom has been around for a long time. My father always used to say – you must be asleep by 9pm. I now know why and adhere to this loving science of the body.

  474. My husband does shift work and I marvel at his ability to hold himself consistently through this. My sense is although on night shifts (10pm-6am) and to an extent afternoon shifts (which finish at 10pm) cut fully or partially into this oh-so important restorative time, if one lives in a harmonious way with a deep care for self, these effects can be reduced. Dianne, I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

  475. My daily rhythm and vitality have changed enormously since starting to go to bed earlier. I was really only kidding myself thinking I would get a lot of stuff done staying up late; my concentration level and attention to detail were actually not that great and I had to either revise or redo a lot of it the next day anyway. And on top of that I would always feel rushed and that I was running out of time.

    1. Ah yes, I can relate to the, ‘If I stay up just one more hour I’ll get soooo much done’ thoughts… Although I did sometimes manage to tick some things off my list, as you say Gabriele the quality of the work was always pretty shabby, often requiring changes and alterations when the next day came. I find doing things in the mornings so much easier, because I’m actually awake and (when I go to bed on time!) feeling vital and fresh.

  476. What a great survey the benefits of everyone’s own experience of sleeping would make. It is feasible that we have all experienced many different ways of approaching sleep from how we are with ourselves to the times we choose. And in that the times we have over ridden how we feel to stay up later. I for one know my body can’t stay up.
    My sense is this would make a great survey to contribute to the science of the body’s own intelligence.

  477. Thank you Dianne for yet again backing up what our body already knows, about the importance of going to bed early. It is great to have the scientific evidence explained
    simplistically and with clarity.

  478. I agree its great to have some scientific evidence to back up what our bodies have already told us. Besides is it not only really since the invention of the lightbulb or people that could afford lots of candles that we stayed up later than sundown.

  479. How fascinating I didn’t know I had a hippocampus:) The science you have shared completely mirrors my personal experience of changing my sleeping pattern and mostly going to be at 9pm but certainly winding down at night time rather than running around or pulling all nighters to get things done, which is something I used to do a lot.

  481. Hi Dianne great blog, you cannot get clearer than this and I can also say that my body has been benefitting for the last 12 years from my listening to it and making different choices. Going to bed at 9 is one of these choices and it has changed everything for me. My productivity, the hours I am able to work in a day, my energy levels , my moods, my very state of being.

    1. I love the line in your comment Katheen, that sleep affects our very state of being. It is immensely rewarding for the body to honour its cycles and rhythms and I know without a doubt my body simply adores going to be early and everything in my life is positively affected by this loving choice.

  482. Since I settled down and had children I usually felt like going to bed at nine but I didn’t, afraid of missing a good talk with a friend or a movie during which I pushed myself to not fall asleep. And when I chose to go to a party, before my first drink I can remember this sense of ‘what am I doing I am tired and I still have to be up all night’. Coming home I would be so awake I couldn’t fall a sleep anymore. I started to notice that it took me about two weeks to truly recover from a night out especially when I drank alcohol but even without I could feel it was a massive attack on my body. These days I go to bed as early as I can and in the morning I feel bright, awake, emotionally stable and don’t need anything to keep me going. Simply wonderful. And when I do get tired I know it is time to listen to my body and see what is going on.

  483. Thank you Diane for you easy to understand scientific explanation of the science of ‘Early to Bed”. This explains why I feel unwell, cloudy heavy in my body and unable to function when I have the occasional late night.

    1. That’s true Margaret – the now occasional late night can have a similar impact on me. It’s a great reminder of the effect of a lack of sleep on the body. It’s a bit like remembering I used to smoke – how on earth did I do that?!!

  484. At the moment even though I know how much better I feel when I go to bed at around 9, I am not achieving this and it is much later than I would like. I used to use the excuse that I am so busy and I have so much to do, but I know this is not true, it is about the rhythm of my day and keeping the focus on each moment and not being distracted and trying to do too many things at once. Women are known for multi tasking but I can see now that is why we get so stressed, trying to cram too much into our day and pushing ourselves.

    Your blog Dianne really brings home to me why we need to go to bed earlier than we may want to, it is not an ‘old wives tale’ to go to bed at 9, but a fact, our body needs to do this to clear our thoughts from that day ready to start the next day fresh and clear. Oh how I love the body, forever showing us that there is a way to live that will keep us in optimum health and vitality.

  485. So yesterday I was out later than expected and past the time I would have liked to go to bed and what came to me is …. Oh no my files cannot download properly and my office will not be organised 😮 I love what you have shared here it gives a completely different and fun perspective through science on why going to bed early is a loving thing to do.

    1. So true Vicky, it is a very good motivator to make sure the head hits the pillow at the optimum hour for our internal office clerks to getting going on their work load. My feeling is that this insight might also extend to our waking hours too. Sparing a thought for the night shift and what they have to process through our waking hours might be a good idea as well, so that we don’t overload their in-boxes with too many spam emails!

    2. Vicky your comment made me smile. It’s true that our rhythm of going to bed early supports us to no end in our daily lives – I have also noticed that if I am out later than my usual bedtime, I still adhere to my ‘wind down’ time, so my body is actually already in well into repose by the time I go to bed. It’s not something I would like to do on a regular basis, but we can be flexible when necessary if our overall rhythms are strong and our bodies are supported in the way we live.

  486. I find the last paragraph is a highly accurate assessment of our current ways. As a humanity we have gotten used to relying on scientific evidence to drive our every action, yet we have a living science that is the responses of our body to every situation we encounter. In our bodies we can trust if we are willing to let go of our need for scientific proof. It feels quite imprisoning to only react to a scientific research in our choices, particularly if we consider how much of science is skewed to create a certain outcome.

    1. What a great and valuable comment Stephen G.
      Our body has its own grand intelligence and each of us is a living science and have the answers that we as a race of beings are looking for ‘out there’.
      For me science has got too complicated and the double blind testing and placebo this and that simply does not cut it for me. My interest in science came when I met Dianne Trussell who presents in a simple way and it makes so much sense.
      She confirms what Serge Benhayon has been saying from day one that we need to look at what our body is telling us and he gives us practical and simple ways to access all that we need because it is actually inside each and every one of us – equally.

  487. I find it fascinating how we were never taught this in Science lessons at school! It is total gold! I, like every teenager, had my period of going to bed pretty late and waking up the next day always exhausted, feeling like instead of having a clear out during the night I had made my body denser! Now I’m usually in bed just before 9pm, and the difference is huge. Although I do still feel tired when I wake up (I’m working on this), I go into my day much more fresh, with much more time on my hands, rather than waking up late and being rushed.

    1. I’ve had the same experience Susie, from being someone who would be in bed before midnight to now being in bed at 8pm. The difference is huge, but like you I’m still waking up tired and it’s definitely a work in progress. The quality in which we put ourselves to sleep is really important – something I tend to override by being on my phone checking social media until my eyes are too sore and not really giving my body a chance to wind down. This all impacts the quality of my sleep and how I feel the next day.

      1. I do the exact same thing Elodie. Over the last few weeks I’ve been practising something, which is to not scroll through social media as the last thing I do before sleep, and it does make a big difference. I’ve been reading instead for 10 minutes or so before sleep and it allows my body to wind down, and for me to un-engage from all the busyness that’s happening in the world around me.

  488. This is such an interesting article Dianne, “So the consequences can be more than just ‘feeling tired’. And the whole equation gets tighter as you get older, like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!” This makes complete sense!

  489. It’s easy to let our day run on a bit later, thinking we are ‘getting things done’ but often they could easily be left to the morning and are much more efficiently done then because we are fresher. Going to bed late is another form of self abuse.

    1. Yes Carmel that is a great way to look at this, as we are in fact damaging ourselves if we disregard our bodies and push on s to stay up late.

    2. Thank you Carmel for putting it so clearly ‘Going to bed late is another form of self abuse.’ I can get into the must get stuff done so I can switch off mode even though I know I am fresher in the morning. Looking at why I would chose to abuse my body in this way rather than supporting my body to rest when it is giving me clear signals is still a work in progress for me despite my recognition of the huge benefits that I have felt from consistently being in bed by 9pm.

  490. It’s interesting how ardently people can defend their choice to stay up late – and how attractive staying up late is to rebellious children and teens. It’s as if our spirits leap at any chance to separate us from our bodies and all the wisdom they hold, leading us to consistently ignore, do battle and abuse these amazing vehicles.

  491. I just love how science is used here to simply share with us a fact of life – Dianne this to me is the true union of science and humanity – sharing what is a simple fact supported by the science of the body. Thank you for delivering this in a way that is truly understood and confirmed in my body.

  492. Well I never knew that! But I’ve certainly enjoyed the benefits of going to bed early for years now, and can feel how a late night just leaves me a little foggy and struggling to get the same clarity. The other benefit for me is that the early morning has always been my favourite time of day – so quiet, so still. Its a very precious time of day just for me and a side benefit of getting to bed early.

    1. I agree, Simon. There is such a lovely stillness in the early mornings. I thoroughly enjoy waking up early and beginning my day before the sun is up!

  493. The restorative powers of sleep and the brain during sleep are magnificent. What a divinely inspired design that gave us such a neat system of dealing with the day. Tampering with such an intelligent design does not make sense.

    1. I agree Victoria. I love the way you have worded this. Why indeed would we want to mess with such a divinely inspired design?

    2. So true Victoria. Why would we want to mess with such a functional and perfect system? I question my choices constantly and I sit back sometimes and just wonder why I do it. We all have choices, no one is excluded from that – so why choose what doesn’t serve us?

  494. There is nothing like lived experience. Anecdotal evidence is not to be dismissed – to do so is to ignore the truth of all the ways we can live, whether you support the validity of anecdotal evidence or not. After all, evidence is evidence whether it is anecdotal or empirical and whilst science with its ‘golden standard’ status might not support it, the social sciences do. Anecdote – collecting and compiling data about people and their experiences – is the foundation of the qualitative research techniques that characterise research in the social sciences, which is every inch as valid as its opposite, the quantitative research techniques used by scientists.

    1. I totally agree Victoria. The sharing of a lived experience makes research so real and so solid, especially if the purpose of the research is to truly support people. A personal story is so much easier for us to relate to and be inspired by.

  495. Just brilliant Dianne. Not only have you 1) presented heavenly knowledge in a completely down-to-earth way, you have 2) experimented for yourself prior to confirming what you already knew with research: this is consciousness-busting in terms of the way research is currently understood and undertaken. Congratulations and thank you for this marvellous presentation.

  496. Dianne this is a brilliant confirmation of what our bodies so naturally know, it so clearly details the processes and I love how you describe it all in such simple and tangible ways. As you say it is ageless wisdom – something that has been known and felt for so long, and something so many of us are now reconnecting to.

  497. Dianne I love the lighthearted way you make science easy to understand. I love the fact that that my hippocampus and my cortex are working while I sleep, compiling organizing and filing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences, I certainly feel a lot clearer in the mornings when I have not sabotaged the process.

  499. How have many times have we chosen what we felt was better for us instead what science was trying to tell us? In the 60s we were told smoking was good for us and only recently has the truth about dairy started to come to light. The science that is trying to show us the real truth seems to be cast aside. I like science that confirms what we already know. We knew it when we were small that going to bed before 9 was good for us, it was what lit the fire for exploring the next new day for us.

      1. That is indeed a very wise saying. With all the distractions going on in the world we might need a big stop in our lives before we realize our life style might need some adjusting.

  500. Dianne it is so great that science has confirmed that “early to bed, early to rise” supports the health of our body. I love going to bed early. If I pass 9pm I notice the difference in my energy level, vitality and clarity. I find if I go to bed between 8pm and 9pm, is the best time for my body. I have noticed so much difference in my health over the last few years just by going to bed early. As you say this is not new, it is ageless wisdom that was practised by many well before time, and many have spoken about it, the planet, the sun and moon support this rhythm and routine.

  501. Thank you Dianne, it is fantastic to hear the science behind the obvious positive effects of going to sleep early. I know for me going to bed consistently around 9pm has been super healing, like you say I feel so much more prepared to address my day and my moods are far more stable. Can you imagine if the rest of the world cottoned on to how important and how good it is for you to go to bed early? I am sure amongst other conditions we would see depression rates drop in a instant.

  502. I liked that I felt a whole lot better from getting to bed early but what is just as valuable and possibly even more so is that I have SO MUCH MORE TIME!

  503. I have found by living lovingly, being consciously present with myself throughout the day, eating well and nurturing my body, and winding down before I go to bed before 9pm every night, supports my body and brain to do the work it needs to do during the night shift.

  504. Thank you Dianne for another elucidating and insightful blog – I really enjoyed reading it and agree it would be so much more fruitful if we but listened to when the body feels it is time to prepare for bed/sleep. I find it is really cool to have the wisdom of your knowledge of science thrown in to the mix to explain exactly why and what is happening in the head. Science was never my easiest subject to learn while at school, but what you offer makes total sense.

  505. Thank you Diane for presenting the science our bodies already know. You provide a wonderful bridge for the doubting and enquiring mind which is much needed. With deepest appreciation for the love and joy you bring to science; it has changed my world.

    1. Yes Suzanne, Dianne has brought a joy to science and makes it accessible to all, and takes that wall away for the lay person. We are all knowing as we are all part of the Ancient Wisdom, its particles are in our bodies, science does not have all the answers, we actually do, we just do not connect to it and this comment would be seen as ridiculous and not even worth the space it’s written on. If we start to connect to the Ancient Wisdom, is it actually very scientific just not under the restricted definition of science today.

  506. I used to think I was not a morning person but then realised that it was more that – I was not a late night person and it was the late nights that fed the need for late mornings. My body now thanks me for my early to bed, early to rise routine and I usually wake up feeling fresh and vital in the morning.

    1. That’s an interesting one Jane, I have had conversations with a few people about being ‘a night owl’ as in going to bed very late presented as just being who they are, while stating they wish they could change. So something in them obviously felt it wasn’t natural.

      1. It is funny how our bodies know deeply what they need, Simon. Even when we profess that “that’s just who I am” we often say it rather resignedly or with a force to protect ourselves from being changed, when very often it is something that we wish we cold change about ourselves.

    2. It’s funny, I did the whole late to bed thing for years – sometimes excruciatingly so – but once I returned to my natural ‘early to bed’ rhythm I recalled my final year at school. Cramming for exams, I would get up early rather than stay up late. And so it is today, without the cramming, if I can help it! Working early in the morning is a great way to start a productive and purposeful day. If I work later than say, 7.30pm max (and even then that is pushing it sometimes), I know I’m off to bed in an excess of mental energy and bound for a disturbed sleep and inadequate rest.

      1. I was the same Victoria. If I had assignments or exams on I would go to bed super early and wake up at 2 or 3am if needed. I can still remember sitting at the dining room table in the quiet of the night. It was never difficult for me if I had gone to bed early. Staying up late wasn’t really an option for me at these times.

    1. Jane that’s a really lovely point, the science and the intelligence of the body is quite remarkable and when we have an example of how it works during the night when we sleep it simply confirms that. Without “thinking” our body is taking care of us. It knows exactly what is needed and if we listen to and honour what it’s saying to us – it can then do its job to regenerate, clean and revitalise us for the next day. All of this goes on without us having to learn or study anything.

    2. Our bodies are amazing and we take them for granted until something happens and then we blame the body for letting us down! To stop and appreciate our bodies is such a loving thing to do as Jane has so beautifully expressed here. Thank you Jane for bringing my attention to appreciating my body during sleep time.

  508. Everybody knows that kids need to go early to bed, the same for when we are ill. This supports us in our process to grow and to heal. So why do we dismiss this as adults for ourselves? And why do we need science to confirm this to us?

  509. I love how science gives us a chance to confirm what we already know and can feel in our bodies, especially when it is presented in such a playful way.

    1. Yes l agree, Dianne sees the fun and playfulness of science and shares it to all so passionately.

    2. So very true, Shami. It is as if we are walking scientists living the science of life, and science is simply putting words and explanations to what we already are living.

  510. I have found going to bed at 9pm really works for me. I have always felt tired around 9pm. Now I am more honest and just go to bed. From my 20s to early 40s I would pretend I was staying up, but actually just fell asleep on the sofa at 9pm and then would be woken by my husband when he was going to bed.

    1. l do my best to get to bed at 9pm or earlier it makes such a marked difference to how l am the next day.

    2. How many people do I know, or have I heard, do exactly this. Where and how did this go unnoticed? How bananas that we have let this become the norm rather than listen to and look after our bodies.

  511. Funny how when we’re kids bedtime is (in most cases anyway), well before 9 pm, what happens for us as we get older that makes us think we can extend till way beyond 9 pm or even midnight? As adults are we not meant to be matured enough to ‘know whats good for us’? As you beautifully say Dianne, absolutely we do know, if only we are to listen to what our body graciously informs us of.

    1. Yeah true, its funny how with kids we do put in these things to support them to ensure they have proper rest and then these ideas that as you grow up you can stay up later yet is there something in the fact that we also rest at the same time and if we need less sleep get up earlier. For me I know this works.

    2. This is such an insight, why is it that adults know that an early bed time is good for kids, but ignore this when it comes to themselves.

      1. As little kids have we ‘done what we’ve been told’ without understanding why this is being asked of us, or has it been a welcomed ‘next’ to follow after a full day. What is it we actually think we’re missing out on by going to bed early?

    3. Great point Giselle at what point in life do we stop caring for ourselves with those things, like going to be early. which we know are healthy for us?

    4. Great point Giselle. I feel it comes from not living the fullness of ourselves during the day and so we want to extend the day or reward ourselves with TV or entertainment late into the evenings. Since going to bed around 9pm, I don’t feel I’m missing out one iota…in fact I’ve gained more time by waking early and not needing as much sleep.

      1. It’s interesting how our attention can shift at ‘knock off’ time, as if we’re let out, to roam free, or get back to where we left off before we clocked on. It begs the question are we really attending in full to the work at hand. Can we not take, like you say Sandra, ourselves in full to all we’re doing throughout the day, and then also to bed to sleep.

    5. Great point Giselle. Can you imagine what this teaches our kids? It becomes a clear message that becoming an adult is a license to irresponsibility. And then we wonder why teenagers seem so out of control, when all they have been doing is watching and learning from the way adults are behaving.

      1. Absolutely Vicky, how confusing it is to be told one thing and observe something else all together.

    6. Your comment reminded me of seeing kids displaying agitated and difficult behaviours when parents didn’t honour their natural bedtime 6-7pm. I have observed that the household would be in complete disarray, screaming kids and frustrated parents. So it was pretty obvious, early bedtime for kids were crucial for their development, health, behaviour and the family environment. Yet interesting to reflect back how I didn’t honour my own natural bedtime and rhythm, and wondered why I was always so grumpy and exhausted. Adults and children are alike, we all get hugely affected if we choose to not listen to our body and going to bed late, affects our ability to function, our health both physically and mentally.

    7. That is a good point you make Giselle, how come going to bed late is somehow related to being old enough to stay up late? And why did we create social activities as dinner with friends or parties etc. in the late hours, when our bodies are actually tired and need stimulating foods, drinks or activities to even cope?

  512. I find it interesting how we have come to label certain things we do with early or late. Like going to bed by 9pm is considered ‘early’ for most and rising in the earlier hours of the morning ‘early’ or almost ‘abnormal’. However as I like to be in bed for between 8 and 8.30pm, as this seems normal for me, 9pm feels very late! As an adult I have always been ready to sleep by 9pm, it is just that I have fallen for keeping myself up as I thought I ‘needed’ that time. Now, after understanding how my body works, it is how it is and has been for many years – I couldn’t live any other way.

  513. Got to love it when science confirmed what has been known and lived by many. As you say Diane, some use published evidence, some use the evidence of their own days.

    1. Isn’t it great when the two come together to confirm each other. Another thought that occurs to me is that I am sure that this is actually how science advances in its truest way. We start with a feeling, deep in the body that we know is a truth but cannot explain. Then science comes along and can investigate the nuts and bolts to help us understand that in greater depth.

    2. Yeah it is great how what we have lived has now be proven and that it is truly beneficial in life.

    3. ‘Mega-amazing’ Dianne and Joel, the living science of the students of the Livingness which share the simple benefits of an early nights sleep, brings so much light to the evidence about sleep rhythms that it should be published.

  514. I have found going to bed between 8:30-9:30 feels completely different in how I feel the next day when I have gone to bed later. There is this real clarity that I feel within me when I go bed before 9pm which I take into my next day which seems to flow with clarity, less stressed,exhausting & quite productive. I love the scientific explanation on what happens in our brain with the filing analogy. So the old saying, “early to bed & early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy & wise” sure has a deeper meaning to it! When I have gone to bed late, I am tired, skow, needing food/drinks to get me going & am not as clear or productive. So, why fight body’s natural rhythm? Going to bed
    early is the way 🙂 Thanks for this insightful article Dianne.

  515. As you say Dianne, early to bed and early to rise is what the Ancient Wisdom has always taught. Years ago I remember studying the yoga sutras of Patanjali, one of the former teachers of the Ancient Wisdom and somewhere in the sutras is made mention of the wisdom of early to sleep and rising early. So it’s nothing new just that in general we often choose to ignore this common sense and harmonious way of living which has been around for aeons.

    1. Yes Josephine, what I can even sense from your writing , is that in myself I can also feel that I have used sleeping later to actually disregard my body and rhythm so I would have an excuse to not feel well – and to not bring all of me to my day! It is that we have to look honestly at why we sabotage ourselves from happy, vital and loving life – that will make our lives better!

  516. Great blog Dianne. Thanks for bridging the gap between what we really know – i.e. going to bed early is great for our sense of well-being and the scientific knowledge that supports this knowing. I have always known that going to bed early was important (even as a teenager I was never in bed past 10.00 pm), but didn’t know about the stuff in the brain. A great confirmation!

  517. My body is a science laboratory. It is gives instant feedback on the choices I make. The response isn’t just from my body though. It’s from the science of life and how my choices correspond to that science.

  518. I loved how you explain what is happening in those hours of sleep within our brains Dianne, making it so easy and fun to understand what my body already knows.

  519. I definitely agree with your suggestion that not only does early to bed have the amazing benefits of quality sleep and quality wake time, but that ‘early to bed’ on a consistent basis means my body asks for less than the 7- 9 hours sleep (as highlighted in the study). It’s truly amazing what the body can handle when it is rested in line with its natural rhythm.

  520. What you have presented Dianne is invaluable. In a world overridden by rules and constructs that do not truly serve humanity, this piece of writing lays to rest any misconceptions about when we should go to bed. I know how it feels in my body, and it is great to learn the science behind it, thank you.

  521. Thank you for bringing the science behind ‘Early to Bed’ alive is such a relatable way Dianne. I love the image of all the filing going on while I am asleep and feel inspired to commit more deeply to getting to sleep by 9pm to allow this to happen and support me to be more productive the next day.

  522. It is so beautiful when science confirms what we feel within……and then somehow this wisdom becomes more accessible to everyone. Even when I was a teenager I struggled with staying out late and the only way I could sustain this was by drinking alcohol to stimulate. Needless to say the effects the next day were that I would feel tired and listless – much the same as I do now when I go to bed after 9.00 pm. When my day is so much fuller with the love and respect I show myself by ‘early to bed and early to rise’ I wonder why I would be tempted to do it any other way.

  523. So my understanding here is that the hippocampus part of my brain is recording absolutely EVERYTHING that went on during my day. That means all my thoughts, feelings and actions. This confirms that there is no getting away with it – our body is taking on inside it every single thing and so is it any wonder we get sick if we have feelings or thoughts or carry out actions that we know are ugly, not true, not our stuff or an emotion we can feel is hurting us or others.
    Just by making a simple choice to go to bed early for the past 10 years my life has changed and at times due to work shifts I do go to bed late but then I get up later and it does work the same. What I do to support me with a late shift is pay close attention to my body and not eat late as that never works.

  524. I LOVE gong to bed early! I don’t need any other evidence that what my body feels after doing this, but it’s good to read the science that supports me in what I already know.

  525. I know that when I sleep late in the morning I feel drowsy and lethargic. One would think that getting more sleep would be energising, but not so! I feel more vibrant and alive when I rise early, even if I have gone to bed later than I would like. And early nights….oh I love my early nights! Science has verified what my body already knows.

  526. Thanks Diane it is so true that there is often lots of research and information out there that already supports what we innately know but it is not always in a fully accessible location or format. I remember not being able to understand neurology even though I studied it at university. You have bridged that gap with your excellent very understandable simple summary and made neurology fun again!

  527. Since reading your article I have started apologising to my hippocampus every time I am off to bed a bit later than the usual 9pm. I love being playful with this and I deeply appreciate what you have brought through with your blog Dianne.

  528. This is awesome Dianne and so accessable to amyone who might be alergic to scientific research. Simple, clear, black and white. Now to actually apply it to my life consistently!
    Thankyou.

  529. You bring science alive Dianne and demonstrate how the science of our bodies is the utmost authority.

  530. So true Dianne and thank you for such an easy to read explanation of brain neurology. Choosing to go to bed early has been one of the best decisions of my life. I used to live the complete reverse, staying up late and going to bed about 3am. I generally felt dreadful and my body had various ways of showing me what a dreadful choice this was – painful periods, shocking headaches, regular colds.

    Now I love going to bed early and getting up between 3 and 4am. I can still enjoy the beautiful stillness of this time of day and my body loves me for it. No more headaches, no more pain. I also read somewhere that when we sleep the hormone Melatonin is released when cortisol levels are low. Melatonin is now being appreciated as a hormone with great anti-oxidant properties that support the body’s immune system to clean up our cells while we sleep. So the wee hours are also a great time for the office cleaners to get busy too and tidy up the place while the office workers are doing their filing. Now I understand why we refer to an early to bed routine as a time to get in some beauty sleep, as going to bed early definitely supports us to wake up with a radiant glow on our faces in the morning.

  531. How strange is the world when children are made to go to bed early… so the adults can veg from day. What if every parent was given this blog to start with? I am a living example for the people around me for what early to bed and early to rise can do. We are doing science for the world to see what is possible… and we get to see more sunrises, which is always an amazing start for the day.

    1. I love doing science for the world, we are living experiments you can watch and touch and feel, and there is no better evidence for the usefulness of any research then applicability in everyday life.

  532. Thank you, Dianne, for breaking the illusion that the timings don’t matter so long as we get our 8 hours sleep. I always feel sluggish when I have slept in because I did not get to bed early enough, so this makes complete sense and is going to revolutionise my bedtime routine.

  533. After reading your fascinating blog about the relationship with our sleep rhythms, critical areas in the brain, and celestial constellations, it became clear to me that in general, we all take for granted just how incredibly beautiful it is how all of these things work together in a harmonious way as if by magic, if we simply listen to our bodies’ messages of being tired, go to bed early, and awake refreshed early as well. It’s only when we override how we truly feel that everything goes awry and can even lead to the diseases that Dianne has mentioned here. But there is an incredible flow that is there to be had by everyone and appreciated for its grandness in how things like our hippocampus can communicate with our neo-cortex while we are asleep. Perhaps this proves that we (our personalities) are not actually the ones doing all the thinking, but are really subject to other energies working through us that are tied to astronomical cycles as well.

  534. It seems that bringing the scientific knowledge of effective sleep rhythms into the wisdom of listening to our bodies, is an essential part of bringing the livingness in a very accessible way to everyone. The point about the the stress hormone cortisol preventing a deeply restful quality of sleep is in itself a revelation and brings western science to the wisdom of winding down gently in the evening and let’s take it a step even further, to developing our livingness to a degree where we take pressure in our stride and learn how to not wind up so much!

  535. Stunning article Dianne. I can’t say enough how much I enjoy reading about REAL science – like this. Many a university professor would be privileged to study with you.

  536. Dianne this is SUPER AMAZING! I love your final note: “This is all pretty cool. But you know what’s even cooler? It’s that, although there is a chunk of society that wants scientific research results and explanations before they will accept the truth of something, the truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we listen.” The whole world needs to read this. I can really understand why Mental Health is on the rise and why psychosis has reached epidemic proportions! Thank you for continuing to share your incredible wisdom with us – I can’t wait for the next one.

  537. I went 8 nights straight once without sleep to complete a University assignment. As insane as that is, and as zombified and crazy as I felt by that last day, it is actually not that uncommon, for I know many people who buzz off the adrenaline of 2, 3 nights without sleep. I also observe over and over again, the downward spiral and impact this has on one’s body and mental health, including my own a number of years back.

    In saying that, this blog alone is truly enough to change one’s life beyond words, including the state of physical and mental health around the world. I’m actually blown away considering the true impact it would make if everyone allowed themselves to read it and be reminded and inspired by the truth and science of their own body and how it naturally communicates to us, ‘Hey it’s 9pm I would love to get cosy and sleep now.’

    For I now know how truly supportive going to bed at 9pm has been for me in more recent years. Thank-you Dianne for writing this blog, this really is one to share with the whole world, and thank-you Serge Benhayon for presenting and living this science, inspiring me to give ‘early to bed’ a whirl still to this day. Gosh what a difference an early night makes… Your soul thanks you for it that is for sure.

  538. Thank you Dianne for sharing this insight into sleep, so true, it’s great that modern science is proving what has been known for eons and what we instinctively have known since being a child. We have always known the benefits of early to bed early to rise, my grand mother used to say and live that every hour of sleep before midnight was worth 3 hours compared to every hour of sleep after midnight.

    The big question is for me, how did I let a lie run my life, when I began to sit up late and wake up tired grumpy and seek a coffee to start me off in a day that was going to be long and hard brought about by bad sleeping habits?

    Fortunately today I have turned those habits around by paying attention to my body and its plain communication that says I am tired, take me to bed for the glorious sleep we deserve, so as tomorrow we will be ready to meet life in full and the day will be a joy to be together.

  539. Brilliant, thank you Dianne for putting into words the science of sleep, a science that the wisdom of my body knows and actually expresses to me every day.

  540. This is a really great blog, Dianne, so enlightening how you explain scientifically why going to bed early is so beneficial to us. Why is it that we don’t see this sort of information in the media etc. It would seem that maybe vested interest has something to do with it, so much distraction is now being offered to us, to have everyone going to bed early would mean that people would not be partaking of that distraction, and the vested interest (which is everywhere) would not be making money.

    I especially love this sentence, “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try).” I love how you tie us to the cycles of the universe, we are a part of this amazing wholeness and need to work and live within these cycles.

    1. Yes, I totally agree with what you say Beverley. By referring to stars in the way that Dianne does clearly demonstrate how everything is inter-connected and to truly understand something the reductionist approach of modern science is incredibly limited and limiting.

  541. Brilliant article Dianne. I agree that it is so very cool, when we appreciate how our bodies are always naturally synchronizing with the precise cycles of our planet in order to support us to live vitally and harmoniously. And that we can be guided by our bodies constantly, when we choose to connect, pay attention to and honor the signals that are forever offered, such as when we are feeling tired in the evenings.

  542. The amount of sunlight varies each day according to the season or where we are on our annual circuit around the sun. it is much more noticable in the UK where the latittude is in the fifties where it seems natural to work longer during the day and sleep less at night in summer and the opposite in the winter.
    Around Goonellabah where the lattitude is in the late twenties, the effect is not so noticeable but does make a difference.

    1. Interesting comment, Nicholas – I find I can definitely get more done in the UK Summer than in the Winter and two reasons: (1) the lack of daylight and also (2) the cold weather – when my body is fighting to stay warm, not only do I need more sleep, but basic survival becomes a priority and everything I thought I needed to do becomes way less significant. I even used to write in my diary for October 1st – ‘Don’t plan to do so much’ because it would catch me out every year!

  543. I agree with you on this sentence Dianne, “The scientists didn’t study going to bed at 8 pm and getting up at 3 to 4 am, but based on how amazing I and many friends feel on this cycle, it would probably show an even more beneficial effect”. I seem to thrive on this cycle, not only do I work well on it early in the morning but I also get a really good night’s sleep at the end of the day.

    1. I agree Nicholas about thriving, the more I gently live the rhythm my body indicates to me the more vitality I have for my day. In fact if I don’t start putting myself to bed when my body is ready I found my eyes shut automatically whatever I’m doing.

    2. Nicholas I too thrive on this cycle. I especially like waking early in the morning. It’s a fantastic time of day and I feel very focused and alert. It’s a great time for me to do work.

  544. Science has discovered all sorts of stuff that has helped us, at the same time it has consumed years of searching for answers for questions no one was asking to explain something that just worked. Science is choices, you go out eat at a restaurant with someone that eats there regularly and you except from them what is tasty… you order, you eat and one of two outcomes, you like it or you don’t. Mini science. We choose all the time to try science on ourselves – going to bed between 8 and 9 every night is one of those mini science experiments that does not have to have empirical evidence… I just know it what is does for me and I love that time in the morning to start my day before the sun rises.

    1. That is so true sjmatsonuk, that all of life we experiment with is ‘mini’ science and that we actually do not need the institutionalised researches that tell us, or rather dictate to us, how we should live basd on their official and authorised researches. We just know what is good for us if we just allow ourselves to be the scientists of our own life.

    2. You are so right! Sometimes you don’t need science to prove a point when that understanding comes from a knowing. I don’t really have to understand what exactly happens in my brain to know that going to bed early feels right, but if there are any cynics out there around it then the proof is now in the pudding.

  545. Beautifully presented, Dianne, thank you. I had no idea that there was so much going on during our sleep time. You have really hit home just how beneficial it is to get a good night’s sleep, and to make this part of our rhythm equally as important as the quality in every other aspect of our waking lives.

  546. Whether we wish to change our sleeping patterns or not I would safely say that the majority of the population of the world have overridden tiredness to stay up beyond when their bodies wish to be awake. I know of many people who feel knackered but say I can’t go to bed as it’s too early. What and how you present this information is very accessible Dianne, I appreciate the ability you have to relay what might otherwise be complicated information in a very easy to understand manner.

  547. Dianne thanks for your comprehensive and scientific account of the benefits of going to bed early. I have been going to bed early by 9pm for the past 5 years and as your article presents I have much more vitality than I have ever had. If on the odd occasion if go to bed later these days, I feel that effect, I don’t feel as bright and sparky and for me it just isn’t worth it any more. Yes, there is absolute simplicity in choosing to go to bed early and the effects are profound.

  548. Now my understanding of the brain is much more clear – and how my sleep affects it – everything makes complete sense – I can even take it deeper and make the going to bed rhythm about real loving, tender, gentleness to support the ‘work’ that will go on in my sleep. That way the ‘office work’ that gets completed is sure to be smoother and more gentle too supporting my waking and next part of the cycle.

  549. What I love about going early to bed is to also get up early. The stillness that I am surrounded by in the early mornings are just Amazing. This energy is so holding, so pure, so full! And as Human Beings, we are polluting this energy everyday. How full of Love is God that our planet Earth is cleansed every day. Wow, that’s making me even more aware of the Responsibility we have. We are constantly appreciated… Do we appreciate Ourselves and Life all around us as well?

    1. This is true, Floris – the early morning stillness is a great reason for going to bed early – to start the day and go for a walk before the busy traffic, to hear the birdsong at dawn and to watch the sunrise are beautiful experiences.

    2. Floris I so agree with you about the early mornings. They are literally my favourite time of day. If for any reason I get out of rhythm and sleep in, I feel like I have missed a big important chunk of the day!

  550. Absolutely fascinating that the rhythms of the stars and the rhythms of our physiology are part of a great unified orchestration – divine science.

    1. Beautifully said Alex – we forget that we are part of something greater, that involves all of humanity, the universe and its rhythms. Dianne is changing the way in which Science is perceived bringing together the Whole, yes it’s truly Divine Science!

      1. Dianne knows how to make science relevant so that everyone can have a personal relationship with the knowledge, deepen one’s understanding and put it to practice in one’s life. Furthermore, we get to understand the greater picture and order we are part of and hence religion naturally joins science.

  551. My body is my own personal scientist and has told me very loudly and very clearly that what works best for her is going to be around 8:30pm and getting up at 3:00am. I also don’t go from running to stop and start to wind down and be a little less outgoing an hour to two before I go to bed. I have been living in this rhythm 24/7 for many years and have more vitality and consistency all day long than I ever knew was possible. However, it is not just about when I sleep but how I live my day 24 hours so this is just one part. If I went to bed at these hours and was emotional during the day and ate and drank substances that did not support my body I would not feel so great. Also because of my 24 hours rhythm and way of living when I travel overseas I never get jet lag and if on occasions I can’t keep to the times above it does not affect me. However, when I have a choice it certainly make a huge difference for me to go to bed early and get up early.

  552. It is very enjoyable to be confirmed by science in what I already know from experience, i.e. my own inner science and to get a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that are at play is fascinating. It is the relevance of such research findings that make them so valuable for our everyday life.

    1. It is true Alex, the confidence that is built in us from listening to our bodies and taking that learning into the world is enormous and has much to offer and share just naturally with others. It is easier to continue the focus on ourselves when we let ourselves really appreciate our steps and the difference they are making for others and us alike.

  553. There are two forms of science – one is our innate knowing of our body, listening to it, making our direct experiences (live experiments so to speak) that we then can reflect and evaluate and then there is the faculty of science like described by you in exploring certain areas of life with the modern means of labs, scans etc. Both are very interesting and should in fact be interrelated and complementary. Your article gives a beautiful example of such integration. For too long have we abandoned our very personal science and thus common sense, knowing and wisdom and given away our power to so-called authorities and faculties that only rely on measurable outcomes that often are in utter denial of our living everyday reality. But when we reclaim our own science and knowing we have a base from where the classic scientific research findings enrich and expand our understanding of life.

    1. I totally agree Alex – there’s nothing more amazing than the understanding of Truth given from our bodies – that aha moment when you can easily change a behaviour in favour of a more loving choice because your body has given you the reflection of the difference.

  554. I can totally vouch for the truth of this article as my own body will testify to feeling super duper lovely or physically ill depending on my bedtime hour. Going to bed late I’ll feel hungover in the morning- tired and sick. Going to bed early I wake with myself and feel present and clear.

    I’ve got to ask myself why is it that I ever go to bed late when I have a choice not to?

  555. Dianne I really enjoyed the way your wrote and shared your information in a humorous way. It is easy to read and remember, and from my experience the absolute truth. Thank you for sharing.

    1. It’s so encompassing of everything, relatable, fun to read and easy to understand. I can’t wait for more! It’s exposing so many of the myths of Science.

  556. What surprises me Dianne is that given that you’ve presented this information in such an easy to understand way, why isn’t this at the forefront of insomnia treatment and sleep problems instead of sleeping pills? Why isn’t this looked at as a starting point for people suffering depression and exhaustion? It makes so much sense and is a way of living that costs nothing as opposed to the huge cost of sleeping medication and treatments.

    1. Great point, why isn’t this information out there? I just read today about this sleep coach app that is very popular within universities. Are we really at a point that we need an app to support us with our sleep while the answer to a supporting sleep rhythm is known by all of us, if we listen to our body….

      1. It’s incredible Mariette that the answers to many of the health issues we are seeing today are staring us in the face and yet they are not seen by the majority of people. It comes back to self-responsibility vs looking outside ourselves for an answer, solution, pill, potion or in this case an app to assist with sleep.

      2. To me it shows that we don’t have a connection with our body, like I did not have for most of my life. When we don’t live from the body, we can never listen to the wisdom that our body is giving us in every moment.

    2. Great point Sandra. What a gift of true well being this is to support everybody’s health and vitality. As you say totally cost effective and as many of us here have proven for ourselves the benefits to our own well being are incredibly supportive. Just imagined the flow on effect to assist reducing stress amongst everyone just for starters. It is worth getting the ancient wisdom circulating.

    3. I was thinking just the same Sandra, why isn’t this looked at as a starting point for people suffering from depression and exhaustion. I can feel how my sleeping rhythm from 9pm till 3/4 am in the morning makes me feel much clearer in my body and my head than when I go to bed later or stay in bed much longer.

    4. I agree Sandra that educating people to become more aware of their bodies and more connected to the wonder and the magic that our bodies perform every day should be at the forefront of any medical treatment alongside any medications that may be supportive. Otherwise we are just managing symptoms and not really getting to the cause of the problem.

      1. It feels so very clear and simple now as someone who has a great sleep rhythm, but when I was in a pattern of poor sleep, exhaustion and barely functioning, a sound and refreshing sleep was something I would have paid good money for, and I would have listened to what Dianne has presented had it been available to me then. And so, this information needs to be freely available to people who are ready to make a change, and to have medications to support them if need be, while their body adjusts back to its natural cycle.

  557. Science is so beautiful. I love the image of the hippocampus, very busy doing all the admin at the end of the day. I think that I close my eyes and sleep, but the body is very much awake, doing another set of activities that can only be done during sleep. ‘Tired’ is a reductionist word that we have gotten used to describing how we feel after a late night when we are actually feeling the aftereffects of not processing the events from the day before. I can understand how several late nights in a row can compound this feeling and keep us feeling drained, exhausted and mentally unstable (i.e. prone to moods). Hence coffee being the hugely traded commodity that it is.

    1. Whew Jinya – you touch on that downward spiral I know of old… exhaustion, feelings of worthlessness and overwhelm, and then the stimulants that get used as a crutch to get us through the day. Ouch!

  558. I would love to have you as a science teacher for your joyful way of explaining what goes on in the head with sleep. It is so easy to understand and simple. I find the important part of going to bed is the preparation before hand. Minimal conversation, nurturing the body, preparing the room and bed all make for an easy transition into sleep. Since going to bed early I feel more refreshed, vital and able to rise so much earlier.

    1. I agree, annebroadbent58, I would love to have Dianne as a science teacher, she makes it all so easy to understand. How blessed we are to have her explaining these otherwise unknown facts that we do not seem to have available to us otherwise. Why is the media not telling us these things? It should be available to everyone, not just kept within the scientific community.

  559. Thanks Dianne! I surely feel a huge difference between going to bed at 9 pm or let’s say 10.30 pm. I just don’t feel so clear in my head when I go to bed later and also feel more groggy in my body. And how I used to override the tiredness in the evening by drinking coffee, so I could last till 12 or later……

    1. I literally feel like I have a hangover when I go to bed late, in that I wake up with a headache and groggy, with a foggy brain. As a child I was naturally an early to bed person, which has carried on into my adult life. I like what Dianne shared about the fact that going to bed between 8-9pm and getting up earlier say 3am-4am will one day prove what is already being established and confirmed in our own bodies – that it is more energising. We don’t need research to tell us this – our body knows already!

    2. On the odd occasion where I go to bed after 9, my brain is ‘all scrambled’ and my body lacks true coordination the next day. Some raise their eyebrows when they hear of my sleeping habits, I shall print Dianne’s insightful blog and let them read it too. In fact EVERYONE should read this, it goes a long way to explaining the depression and mental instability so prevalent today. I love Dianne’s scientific explanations, always taking the mystery out of science and making it clear and simple. Thank you Dianne.

      1. Yes there will also definitely be a few people in my life I will forward this article to. My best friend has a strong sleeping disorder and when I suggested him going to bed early he was absolutely sure that this would make everything worse because he would not be able to sleep so early and he “needs” the evenings to meet friends, get work finished etc. It was the same for me over many years and I really benefit from going to bed earlier very much, although I first could hardly believe that this would have any effects on my life.

      2. Eva-Maria, I have many friends and family who used to be late-nighters, who said they could not get to sleep if they go to bed earlier. There is a simple way to shift rhythm that has helped them and may help your friend: let’s say they usually go to bed at 11:30 pm. So just shave off 15 minutes and go to bed at 11:15 pm for a few days or weeks until it’s easy. Then shave off another 15 – go to bed at 11:00 until it’s easy…. and so on. Helps the busy brain adjust to the new rhythm. This way my mum got down from going to sleep at midnight or 1:00 am to 9:00 pm in just a couple of months!

  560. I found the simple explanation of how getting to sleep early affects different parts of the brain quite interesting, even though the explanation was not required as I have noticed a huge increase in my energy levels since changing my sleep pattern and getting to bed by nine.

  561. Wow – I always assumed it was the hours of sleep that mattered and not when you started. I must admit that I don’t feel so great after a late night even though I’ve had ‘enough hours’ sleep’. Our bodies are definitely the true scientists and report truthfully on what’s happening with our health. This article will help me to be more consistent with bed times, thank you!

    1. I used to think that, but I too felt the difference when I go to bed around 8pm or 9pm instead of going to bed later and waking up later… I would love to hear more about how we can support night shift workers then if that is the case.

    2. Yes Carmel, I too have found that if I get up any later than 6am, I don’t feel great, and that’s even if I have gone to bed later than my usual 9pm. Trying to catch up like that does not work for me.

  562. This is a brilliant sharing on sleep and rhythm’s that everyone should read as it fully claims who we are as part of the natural cycles of the Universe we are all part of. The harmony with this is not something we are usually taught, except with Universal Medicine, which really does play such an important role in our health well being and purpose of why we are here and the true meaning of life. How amazing that this harmony and wellness all stems from honouring our natural bedtime and knowing of our sleep patterns. Thank you Dianne for this informative lovely article .

  563. What you present is a way back to looking after ourselves through science, which is currently very rare. I love your passion for the Universe and the wonders in it. Gosh if everyone had you as a science teacher it would be pretty cool. I have learnt something about the body I did not know about before. Thank you.

  564. I loved the line about the tsunami of our past choices hitting the shore. It’s so interesting to remember that our bodies are part of everything with the different rhythms we are involved in beyond our control. We can flow with them or constantly fight against them.

  565. This is truly amazing Diane and confirms in a big way why my body always feels honoured and truly rested when I listen to what it asks. I have always found sleeping to be a powerful thing for the body and to be in its natural rhythm is without question super powerful and makes the body feel amazing. The quality in which we enter our sleep is something that I could easily expand on here as I have found when I go to sleep feeling restful and relaxed my sleep quality is amazing.

  567. It’s great to have experienced the true benefit of early nights and then have it confirmed by science.

  568. Thank you for sharing the scientific reasons about why going to bed nice and early, works so well for everybody. I used to find I would push myself at night to make the day stretch out and last that bit longer. Now I get up earlier usually feeling refreshed and actually have more hours in the day and definitely more productive hours! It changes everything but then do we need science to prove this or do we all know that when we go to bed at a sensible time the next day we wake feeling like we have slept really well, compared to going to bed late and waking up exhausted even though we have just spent ages asleep?!

  569. I love this Diane, what you explain scientifically what happens in our brain when we choose certain sleep rhythms. But what I love even more is that we have the ability to feel and explore by ourselves the truth in our bodies before even any scientific result is given. We are all ‘little’ scientists in one way or another.

  570. Diane I too have had the experience for several years going to bed a lot of the time by 9am and getting up 5am if not earlier (except when I work late with events) and I feel like a completely different person. When I do have those odd nights that are late with work I totally feel the difference instantly but do everything I can to wind down as much as I can so if I do have late nights that I am not engaging and super alert but more chilled out and honouring my body.

  571. At any stage of my life I could have read this article and know it’s true. I am going to bed early now if I am not working, but before I started making self loving choices in my life, I was going to bed early once in a blue moon. I could feel how amazing my body was the following day, but I did not have any real information to support it. Because I wanted to think I was making most of my day by going to bed late, this is how I have lived until 6 years ago. plus I did not want to live “out of rhythm” from society but I was out of my own biological rhythm for sure!

  572. What a brilliant presentation Dianne, the most precise and detailed science made super real and relatable. This part I absolutely loved “And the whole equation gets tighter as you get older, like the tsunami of your past choices finally hitting the coast!” A perfect analogy, because so often the tsunami is undetected…until it hits the coast. Then it is a disaster that takes a great deal of time and care to fix.
    Your conclusion is awesome really…that we can so simply test the truth of this for ourselves, and establish it beyond doubt. We do not need to wait for the studies to come in.

  573. With regards to sleep, I have always been firm in my approach to be in bed early – 7pm as a child and a little later as an adult. Although, in my teenage years and early teens I did the abusive party lifestyle for a few years, which meant not sleeping at all! I didn’t cope with this and my brain certainly let me know. I was depressed, completely uncommitted to work, my family and life outside the party scene. I always knew how important sleep was and felt totally anxious not being in bed when I knew I should. With the support of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon I now honour what I know is true for my body and have brought care and love back into my life.

    1. Beautiful to hear Rachael! When I was a child I was also in bed by 7:30 and always felt so amazing!

  574. Thanks for explaining the science of the brain and sleep with the analogy of the filing Dianne – I had never considered it in this way, but makes absolute sense! It made me consider what can potentially happen when we ignore the filing altogether and /or where there is little consistency with this. How awesome it is to acknowledge and appreciate the amazing job our bodies do and how much we can benefit by listening to, and working with the body, and not fighting against it!

  575. This article is such an enjoyable read Dianne – you bring the wonder back in Science and accessibility to all. Science does not have to be daunting, we can be totally engaged with the wonder of it just by being connected and observing what is going on for the body.

  576. How excellent is this science. Thank you Dianne for explaining this to me. I know I feel so much better when going to sleep by 9 and have loved the times when this happened naturally. Then distractions creep in, television, late dinners, things that need to be done. Understanding the science has given me a new understanding of the importance of this rhythm and the importance of my connection with everything and my responsibility to be part of the universe and its rhythms.

  577. Love the science of how this works, thank you Diane. I know my body certainly loves going to bed early and getting up early. If I go to bed late, I feel terrible no matter what time I get up. There is an obvious difference. I would rather feel great.

  578. Great article Dianne, thank you for sharing so simply the Mega benefits to sleeping within our natural cycles. Something I have come to notice is everyone actually does know this science, maybe not the specific details you have gone into with such great care, but very few challenge the fact that they do know going to bed earlier does make a difference to their lives, question is why don’t we listen? Is it possible sleeping to our natural rhythm gives us a clarity that we would rather do without? Is it possible there are certain things we don’t feel equipped to deal with and one of the greatest ways to numb it is to sabotage our sleep so we don’t have to feel? I would say Yes as how do we manage to mess up something that is so naturally natural.

  579. Dianne you have given us a scientific understanding of the benefits of ‘early to bed’ and my whole livingness is supported by this rhythm and I have found it to be the foundation for the next day. I now can’t imagine how I got through many years living with all the side effects and the exhaustion that would have been impacting the quality of my life and everyone I came in contact with. Your research clearly shows this impact!

  580. I found it very interesting Dianne, what you said about our bodies working to much bigger cycles of our planet, the moon, the sun and the whole cosmos, it very much makes sense, thank you for your awesome blog.

  581. Another awesome blog Dianne. I love the wonder and enthusiasm you bring to the world. Thank you. What you have presented here is as other people have shared, something I know in my body so this is a confirmation of that, however you have deepened and widened my awareness hugely with the understanding of the impact our choice to go to bed late has on our physiology. Writing this I realise that even though I am aware that my body is part of me, I can still treat it as though it is separate to my mind and it is this that allows me to treat it in ways that do not support it, no, Me!

  582. I agree – why wait for the research when we can feel in our body what works and what doesn’t work? But then again, it’s great to have it all backed up, hippocampus and all. Great article, making a humongous lot of sense.

  583. I loved what you presented about us all, all our bodies, being tied to ‘much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try).’ Just that notion of being part of one big synchronizing process does begin to make sense if we can bear to get man’s self-made sense of supremacy out of the way. I can feel that I play King Knut to the natural tide of sleep too often – and we all know what happened to him.

  584. Going to bed at or before nine o’clock certainly is a life changer, and has made a huge difference to many friends and mine lives. It’s the most natural rhythm that my body functions at an optimum level with.

  585. Great and informative blog Dianne, I love the simplicity and fun way you explain the scientific workings of our bodies in a way that accessible for everyone.

  586. Reading this part Dianne, “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from” – I felt how when we are just being individual and not considering that we affect the whole, then everything is lived in this way e.g. sleep, eating, driving, working etc etc. But when we are living knowing we are one with all, than how we sleep, eat, drive or work is in line with the bigger natural rhythms and cycles. This will be a great indicator for me, where I am with myself and everyone, or out on my own when it comes to going to sleep early or distracting myself with other things.

  587. Brilliant Diane. Thank you for explaining in such simple language the relationship of sleep with brain function. As you say we do not need the science for us know whether the benefits are true or not – we can discover that for ourselves by experimenting by trying it – but it is extremely confirming by knowing why it works and it will be the trigger, I am sure, for many to have a go.

  588. Thank you Diane – very interesting and fun reading your blog. Makes me want to go to bed earlier than I have been, and bring myself back into a sleeping rhythm that supports me to be vibrant and fully alive.

  589. Thanks for sharing the sciencey part Diane. Science tells us what the body already knows, that is clear. It’s amazing how far away we have come from the truth of sleep. From a young age there has always been something so glamourous about staying up late, a ‘cool’ thing to do and to aspire to. When we are able to dictate our own time to go to bed we have matured, become an adult. Staying up late was a time to have ‘me time’, to not be concerned or bothered with responsibilities of life, a time to indulge, but yes I payed the price and looked for sugar, caffeine and other stimulants to get me through the day. Since going to bed around 9pm my life has changed on so many levels, in some ways I feel the natural joy of a child again, something I sorely missed. No need for sugar or caffeine or the like anymore. I’m vital and know right down to my bones that early to bed, early to rise is definitely the way to go!

  590. I love it when Science supports something that is common sense and known by so many for so long. It’s not rocket science to understand that going to bed early is good for you – and yet it is! And this is where the lived experience of what we can observe, proves to us that we are actually our own science experiment. The understanding and observation of everything I do in my life, and how it effects me is crucial to understanding my life!

    Dianne your joyful, enthusiastic and exuberant understanding of life is beautiful to witness.

    1. Indeed Simon, Dianne presents Science in such a way that can further deepen our own relationships with our bodies and our way of living. This process of observing and understanding ourselves reflects how we are own natural science projects and have inherent way back to living a natural order which is self-loving and self-sustaining.

    2. It’s widely known that going to bed early is ‘common sense’ as you say simplesimon888 but what gets in the way is not so simply understood, we are sold the idea we are missing out on life if we go to bed early, in fact we are told ‘we don’t have a life’. How we have been deluded to be out of rhythm with the cycles that balance and support our whole universe, what makes us try to go against these natural rhythms … that’s worth another Dianne Trussell expose’.

    3. I agree Simon. The way Dianne brings science to life is such a joy to behold, and a blessing to receive. This article, written by a great scientist, is so powerful because she does not give her power away to laboratory science. It empowers the reader to explore their own science; the intimate knowing of their own body, through self-exploration.

  591. Thanks Dianne for presenting this important information in such an interesting way. I have always been an ‘early to bed, early riser’ sort of person but after reading your article I have an even greater understanding of the benefits of doing this. What I am finding more important than ever is that my body needs time to change back gears as the evening progresses so that when I do actually get into bed, my body is ready to rest and sleep. Now I have even more incentive to do this to maximise sleep quality.

  592. So affirming, Dianne. I love the science you bring in what you share with us. Not only is it the time we go to bed but also our winding down rhythm. Recently I did not wind down well and my mind was so racey when I got to bed and I did not sleep well. Our bodies know and tell us all but sometimes we choose not to listen to our detriment!

    1. I agree Anne, a winding down rhythm is important, I find a having bath helps me prepare for sleep. Yesterday I was given a master class on how food affects sleep when unusually, when I found it difficult to fall asleep, despite my soothing pre-sleep bath. I reflected on the day, a birthday lunch, I was offered a taste of a cappuccino chocolate icecream dessert, yes you heard right, I accepted, just one dessertspoonfull. Proof is in the pudding!

  593. Diane thank you for such a real time understanding of the benefits of sleeping a little earlier. I’m one of the people that have been living the truth of this. I’ve discovered the amazing well being that my body and mind truly appreciates. Going to bed and rising in a rhythm that supports us in living vitally has to be one of the simplest choices to support ourselves.

  594. It’s fascinating to know the science behind being in bed early. I’d heard of circadian rhythms but never about the physiological impact in the brain. Makes sense really as it can be super difficult to function and be clear, sharp and focused with insufficient sleep.

    1. What I also value here Shevon, is that it is the quality and timing of our sleep which fits more naturally with our circardian rhythms which can change not only how we function the next day but feelings of vitality.

  595. Dianne what a profound and educational article – you make science fun and understandable for myself and anyone else who may have thought that science was something far out there… Please keep it coming – share with us all the truth about science.

  596. Dianne, you make science fun and practical. I love it. Great to know what is going on inside me during the night. Interestingly many of us (including myself) knew what you present here, already from our bodies speaking to us loud and clear. But going to bed between 9 and 10 pm is not considered ‘normal’ yet and so we override it. Since meeting Serge Benhayon I have been giving myself the freedom to make choices that support me and going to bed is one of them. My body is very grateful and I feel vital and up for the day in the early morning.

    1. I have had the same experience – going to bed earlier than I used to has totally eradicated the frustration I used to have about not being productive enough in the evenings and has shifted all the backed-up tasks into the early mornings when they can easily be taken care of.

      1. Yes Gabriele I have struggled with this as well. I find my body at night is ready to go to bed early and it is difficult to focus on anything if I push past this. If I wait until morning I am so much more productive.

  597. Wow, I didn’t know that there was actual, measurable brain shrinkage from lack of sleep Dianne. It makes sense that delayed sleep onset could lead to feeling depressed if it affects brain function in this way. It then becomes a vicious circle in the cycle of poor quality sleep/depression. Choosing ‘Early to bed’ has certainly had a positive effect on the way I feel each day and the moods, exhaustion and feelings of overwhelm and depression shifted as my body found that more natural rhythm.

    1. I really feel it when I don’t go to bed early and to think in days gone by I used to stay up all night – the stress that was putting on my body was enormous. It also clearly shows when children are not going to bed early how much damage that is causing and the ill rhythm that we are setting them up to be in.

    2. Agreed Rosanna, I have always felt the benefits of sleeping to my natural rhythm = early to bed early to rise, but until Dianne’s amazingly informative blog I had no idea just how much of an impact incorrect sleep patterns have on the brain. Something we should all be taught at school, why is it that we are not?

      1. I agree, just in regard to school alone: it really highlights how much easier and straight forward school and study could be if we were to keep the natural rhythm of our body. There’d be no need for the high amount of sugar to get through what’s asked of students and therefore a double win for balanced hormone system, clarity of thought and ability to handle situations and tasks with steadiness.

  598. Thank you Dianne for this blog, I always enjoy reading your blogs on science as unlike other scientific articles these are willing to look at the bigger picture and not just from a cherry picked perspective. It makes me wonder, if going to bed brings such amazing results as I have experienced then: what if I listened to more of my bodies messages?

  599. Dear Dianne this is an amazing blog and so true I love to go to bed early 🙂 and to get up early. This time in the early morning I love to start my day with some gentle exercise and lying-down to connect with me and make my choice for the day then connect with lovely people, organize myself 🙂 the body knows…so true and I chose to listen to it now and deepening my understanding and being playful with it. Thank You for this strong great and super wise sharing and putting it into stone again!

  600. Reading the title again made me realise how lost we are as a Human Race that we need scientific evidence for something that we all know and experience. Anytime we choose to go (early / earlier) to bed, we’re benefitting from it. Could it be that we actually really know that going early to bed is really benefitting, but that we try to keep avoiding the energetic fact that we are Amazing, Tender, Graceful Human Beings. Just because it hurts too much to admit how much we’ve missed to feel the Love of our Loved Ones and of Ourselves. Could it be that we need to feel our own Love first, before we are able to feel other people’s Love first. And I can relate. I do feel my own Love more and more, but also choose to run away as well. It keeps being work in progress.

    1. Great comment Floris, I can feel that for me, if I don’t go to bed early, even when I can feel I want to, it is just in defiance of the amazing tender, graceful human being that I am. A weird stubbornness that just wants to have control, knowing it is going to make me feel tired. Wow, thanks for triggering that to my attention.

    2. Yes I agree Floris we only need to try going to bed early and getting up early once to have all the evidence we need. There are probably many reasons why we override that as you have suggested. Sometime we do not feel complete with our day so stay up trying to do more or feel rewarded or something like that. Often we don’t feel complete because we were checked out for some of the day, not with ourselves, absorbed energies and so forth. I am learning that if I am present with myself and my actions all day, there can come a point at the end of the day where I can say yes now the day is complete and it is time for my body to rest. This also sets me up for another awesome day to bring all of myself to the next day.

  601. Thank you Diane, the way you have explained the hippocampus and cortex as office work and sending emails is such an awesome way of explaining and making it so simple. I love it! I too have experienced the benefits of going to bed at 9pm, and this sleep routine is a core and practical way to introduce self care into our 24hr day cycle. There’s no doubt it is great medicine for the body.

    1. This is a great point Johanne, whilst this blog points to a more beneficial sleep pattern it is only the beginning, there is no end or beginning as you say it is a whole 24 hr day cycle. What if we observed and understood how the quality of how we live when we our awake also affects our feelings of vitality and the quality of our relationships.

    2. Awesome way of making it very real and practical, something I can and so many will be able to understand the concept. I definitely feel that many of my files and emails don’t get cleared and sent through if I go to bed too late!

  602. Dianne, you present the science of sleep in such a real and accessible way. It totally makes sense and is an awesome reminder not to push through when I can feel my body beginning to wind down at the end of the day because that pushing through has such an far-reaching impact – affecting so much more than that extra something I want to get done in that moment. Thank you so much!

  603. My body certainly tells me when it’s time for bed, and that is pretty soon! Learning not to override this – and that I had the option not to override this has been key! Having a sleep rhythm aligned to my body, and not what ‘I’ want to do is so important.

    1. Yes Amelia, learning not to override what our body is telling us is definitely key. I love the way Dianne’s article shows how this overriding can have a pretty massive impact on the delicate workings of our body – with this understanding, messing with this natural rhythm just does not make sense.

    2. So true Amelia, letting go of the concepts we have like staying up till midnight to fully enjoy an evening together and simply trying to go to bed at 9 pm, with a phase of preparing for sleep by gracefully winding down our bodies and activities. The difference we will feel when doing this for only a short time will be so profound, that no scientific proof will be needed, as our vitality and the feeling of waking up rejuvenated each morning will be more valuable than anything else.

      1. I now get suspicious if I look for ways to stay up past when my body naturally wants to wind down and go to sleep. If I take a moment I can reflect on what part of my day did I not fully bring myself too, that I want to reward myself with some activity or entertainment or fill up so I don’t feel the whole day.

    3. Yes Amelia agreed. There is that sneaky part that wants to do what it wants to do even if its in disregard to the body. But the body always speaks loudly if we choose to listen and rewards us handsomely when we do.

    4. So very true Amelia, ‘Having a sleep rhythm aligned to my body, and not what ‘I’ want to do is so important’. It is easy to change the way we live to suit others but then we disregard our bodies and everything and everyone suffers. When we look after ourselves we then are also taking care of everybody else.

    5. Clearly shows that two needs are at play. One that is true from and for the body (the vehicle that carries us around 24/7 and hence deserves to be cared for in every way) and another aspect of us that is easy in ignoring the very vehicle that hosts it, even willing to run it down as long as it gets its stimulation. One should think it is a no-brainer whom to trust here, but that is not necessarily the reality we get to see today, actually quite the opposite – stimulation is king.

  604. Reading this has literally changed my life – first because whilst I take care of myself this way I had no idea about the different processes that go on – and secondly because this is how science truly is – delivered with such love and fun that I get it straight away. No stress, fun to read and understand, and even more so because it is a practical living way that only lets my living way feel better and better.

    1. I too love how this blog presents the science to explain what my body naturally lives if I do not override and listen to its messages. I especially love the analogy of the filing system and how different parts of the brain relate to each other and how in reality our whole bodies are in inter-related parts. If we don’t support ourselves I can see how different parts of the brain and body get out of whack and the whole system can be stressed and drained, hence all the different hormonal, mental and immune disorders we can manifest.

    2. I agree Lee I have never found science so practical and easy to read. It makes so much sense and has left me pondering why compromise vitality with a late night. As they say it all catches up with you in the end.

    3. Absolutely Lee it’s a great confirmation of what I feel to naturally do, yet was not sure why this was the case. It shows how science is there in everything and even if we don’t know exactly what happens we can certainly feels the results.

      1. I agree grounded05, the way Dianne has explained the science behind the great benefits we receive when we go to bed early in accord with the cycles of the universe is so practical for us all to understand. It is really great to have this deeper understanding of it all, it is so enormously profound.

    4. I agree Lee that this blog is life changing and Dianne shares science with us that makes it interesting, easy to follow and above all it makes sense so why would we not want to take action. I am deeply inspired by everything Dianne Trussell shares and have been blessed to see her present live about other sciences that the world needs to listen to and pay attention. Dianne holds many answers and because she keeps things super simple it guarantees my attention and above all I understand it as I am not lost in the complications of science as it currently is.

  605. Thanks Dianne, love the way you present the science behind what our bodies already know in such a straightforward way. I know when I go to bed early I feel pretty good the next day – vital, alive, and life just flows far more easily – but I’ll override what I feel when it doesn’t fit in with my social life or things I want to get done in the evening.

    I’m starting to feel more and more that there’s no social activity that makes me feel as amazing as going to bed early and feeling so alive for all of the next day – I get more done, and am more connected to people than I would have been the night before anyway!

    I’m also feeling how going to bed early doesn’t make a difference if I don’t give myself the time and space to wind down first: finishing work late, scoffing dinner, throwing myself into bed and commanding myself to sleep, while my mind and body are still racing, doesn’t work. I have far better sleep if I slow down in the evening first, even if that means going to bed a bit later, because by then my body is ready for it.

    1. Yes, the time to wind down is an important aspect of going to bed early and when this is honoured the body is actually prepared and ready for sleep.

  606. This is so great Dianne, presenting the science behind how early bedtime is so beneficial to us and our wellbeing, beautiful to be in harmony with the rhythm of the heavens. I love going to be early.Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge.

  607. This blog needs to be read by the whole world. Very informative and powerful. I generally don’t even make 9pm nowadays as my body sends me a message that it’s time to wind down around 7pm and lights out at 8pm. I awake bright eyed and bushy tailed generally around 4am. It feels amazing to have an early morning and to get the day underway feeling refreshed and rejuvenated from the night’s sleep. Sadly students I teach think I’m crazy for going to bed so early and admit to often staying up past midnight most nights. This is easy to see too as many cannot maintain focus throughout the day, look tired and exhausted and don’t feel motivated to commit to the day. I love going to bed early and allowing my body to do what needs to be done. Supporting my body to work its magic each night allows me to stay on top of life, be committed and to achieve many enjoyable things throughout the day. I can’t recommend early to bed and early to rise more highly.

    1. Supporting our bodies to work their magic – love it! The body holds such a powerfull intelligence that it wants to share with us all the time and when we make choices, like early to bed early to rise, I have learnt that we can hear it so much more.

    2. I have to agree absolutely with you Tracy Aisbett “this blog needs to be read by he whole world”. It holds Truth, Power and the future of what a true society can have just by going to bed at the right time and honouring the body. Dianne Trussell offers our world fresh air at a time when it is so needed.
      I can honestly say that I have tried every trick in the book to stay up later than my body wants and it simply does not work. Recently like you Tracy, I have had a go at what I call “super early” bed so lights out by 8pm and YES it has made a huge difference the next day. I am more productive, more focussed and there is a flow which is hard to put into words other than say its like magic.

    3. I agree with you Tracy Aisbett, the whole words needs to read this blog. I love how Dianne has explained all this scientifically. I will be sharing it around, especially with my family who think I am weird that I never want to stay up late. I have dinner with them every so often, and they are used to me leaving around 8 pm, so I am in bed soon after 8.30 pm. But they still are not comfortable with it. Unfortunately most of the world have this attitude that adults need to stay up later. What is this proving? No wonder they all need coffee.

    4. I wonder how much commitment to life is the actual key to making such a self-caring choice like going to bed early that then feeds the quality of my commitment during the day and in turn is confirmed again by the quality of my sleep.

  608. It’s very true how the the truth of the way we live is already there to be seen in our bodies. As human beings, there is a mentality that we need scientific proof of something before we accept that it is true. The science and proof is in our bodies and as you say Dianne, listening is the important part.

  609. Dianne I love your analogy of how the brain has cycles when all the admin from the day’s activity is sorted and filed to bring order and completion to the day. How awesome is that, and it’s all tied in with the hippocampus that is tuned to the cycles of light. There is magic in the workings of the bodies of all life in the planet. I too have found that going to bed around 9 pm (or earlier if my body needs to rest) has benefited my total health and well-being beyond words. I used to describe myself as a night owl so this early to bed pattern comes as a complete turnaround!

  610. Fabulous blog Dianna. I love the way that you make the ‘science’ of Bed Times so simple, playful and accessible. It is so true that it is the times that you go to sleep as opposed to the amount that you sleep that makes the difference. I was always exhausted as a teenager and in my 20s, and I seemed to always be sleeping. But when I think about it, I rarely went to bed before 11/12pm back then.

  611. This post is Gold Dianne, and the topic has come up often with my work colleagues and family. I have offered the early to bed option to them as they struggle with everyday life and I plan to forward your article so that they may also see there is scientific facts to support the benefits of early to bed.

  612. Dianne why is this not front page news? I’ve also felt the benefits of a sleep cycle “early to bed, early to rise” so am a walking testimonial of this, however hearing how it’s scientifically been proven to be the case shows me that any other sleep cycle is far from normal. In fact whereas in the past some people may say going to sleep at 9pm is not normal, the very opposite is actually true. The pulling together and presenting of this information will be deeply beneficial to many in society who suffer with some if not all of the symptoms you shared at the start. It makes complete sense and now I understand deeper why I feel the benefits of a true sleep cycle.

  613. I can confirm this study with my own experience and add myself as a case study to it. When I go to bed around 8pm – taking my time to wind down, e.g. read something or apply some cream to whatever part of the body is asking for it – and am sound asleep well before 9pm, I wake up early and feel vital, refreshed and ready to begin the day. No alarm or coffee is needed to wake me up. If I stretch it a little for what ever reasons I feel different in the morning, bit harder to get out of bed, bit more drowsy, not as alert and ready to begin the day. So early to bed is something I can very much recommend, it makes such a difference to my day.

  614. Thank you Dianne for presenting the scientific facts in a way that are simple to understand, yet still deliver the absolute truth behind going to bed early. I have never understood how the brain works in as much detail and as clearly as what you share here. It makes sense to my body that already feels the benefits from going to bed early. I am in my 20’s and going to bed before 9pm is not the done thing, however – the difference I feel means more than what is trendy and is what is true.

  615. Absolutely profound Dianne Trussell the way you give us a clear understanding about sleep and how important the actual time we go to sleep is.
    In answer to your question, I personally do not find it difficult to commit to a routine and I most certainly have no addictions and my moods are stable and my thinking is clearer than it has ever been and ALL thanks to Serge Benhayon who presented to me that looking at my sleep would answer a lot of my problems and after 10 years I can honestly say it works.
    I do get asked what keeps me looking young, doing more work than I have ever done without the need to be driven, eat well and have zero exhaustion I always say “get the sleep thing sorted”.
    Your blog here is outstanding and I plan to share it with every single person I know as there is so much to learn and this should be read by everyone in the health professions and in education. Sleep and why it is super important needs to be taught at first school so we can grow up knowing what is natural for us and supports our body to go through life without the ups and downs.

  616. Thank you Dianne, I love how you write and make science so real and true and show it is what we all truly know inside when we live it. Going early to bed really does change one’s life amazingly and the scientific understanding makes sense of all we know but often override. With the rising illness, disease and exhaustion in the world it is time this is all shown, respected and lived.

  617. A true scientist is able to provide evidence for what the body already knows. That is, they take their cue from the body and then assemble the data available for those who are yet to give themselves permission to live in such a way that they are able to access the information their bodies are continuously receiving. Dianne, I love it that you have taken the time to present the scientific findings behind an early bedtime, well after your body had imparted the truth. There is SO much that our bodies are constantly and instantly downloading, faster than the Internet, from the Universe at large. Our bodies belong to the Universe and as such, we are governed by cycles we cannot yet comprehend, no different to the animals, plants and elements we share the Earth plane with. To me, this all makes perfect sense. If we work with these cycles, we will be in harmony with these and hence there will be harmony within ourselves. If we work against these cycles, we may as well be swimming against the current, disharmony prevails and exhaustion naturally ensues. The greater teaching here is – It takes more energy to oppose love than to be it.

    1. Yes. we are connected to the Universe and as long we try to fight that, as long we do not accept our conjunction and live against the natural cycles, it costs a lot of energy. No wonder we are so exhausted and looking for the next coffee or excitement all the time. Thereby harmony is offered all the time – just around us. Only one choice away. Our body is a miracle and holds more preciousness for us to discover.

  618. Diane thank you for presenting the science of sleep, I enjoy learning about the body and how it supports us when we sleep. We are fortunate to know and have worked with Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. The quality of my life changed completely when I started to go to bed between 9.00-10.30pm and wake 3-5am each morning. This is now my natural rhythm. Recently, I stayed with parents of young children, both constantly tired. Their routine late bedtimes to give them more time with each others as a couple when the children are asleep, but this came with knock on effects the following morning and left them playing catch up the rest of the day. Both parents commented on my bedtime routine and the mother experimented with early nights while I was there. She found this gave her space in the morning just for her: to take long showers (which she loves), prepare breakfasts and lunch boxes before the children were up. Changing her beliefs about sleep will take time, but for a few days and of her own choosing, she experienced some of the benefits of going to bed early.

  619. It does feel amazing to listen to my body and not overrule the constant messages being relayed that benefit a healthier way of living/feeling. Sleep deprivation must be high up on most peoples list of problems that they feel contribute to their health issues, it was top of my list. Sleeping pills and blood pressure tablets are not the answer I feel. Connecting with my body (as a friend not the enemy) – learning to re-establish gentle rhythms and patterns prior to sleep time the benefits are enormous. The science that you share with us Dianne really brings about the full understanding of this natural bodily function. We just need to tune in and truly listen.

  620. I love your writing Dianne, and ways of communicating profound truths in such an accessible way. “Listening and knowing does not require scientific education” – this really honours each of us, and the deep inner knowing that has never left us.

  621. So the scientific research is there, our bodies tell us clearly what they would like, if we listen, so no excuses? Yet for most going to bed early is an odd concept but how different could life be if we all put this one simple practice into place? I know it has changed the rhythm of my whole day and how I feel. It is worth at least just trying it as a scientific experiment! Thank you Dianne again for an accessible and easy read when it comes to science 🙂

  623. When I went to school, especially in my teens, learning was never as much fun and presented with so much humour and shared in a way that inspires that process of ‘giving it a go’ or trying something new (in this case the ‘Ageless Wisdom’). Thank you Dianne.

  624. And what I found as well is that I thought that in the evening I am more connected to people, going out and meet some and so on. But the fact is: I did not really meet someone by not being the full ‘ME’ at all. I was not truly connected with me and so was looking for some filling through relationships. Now I use the morning time to deepen my connection with me and to expand. I feel much more connected now to everyone, without the need to get something from others. What is a great start for amazing relationships and amazing days & nights.

    1. Great awareness Sandra – all that filling of ourselves with others simply because we have not honoured that we need to go to bed earlier to support ourselves being full of ourselves!

  625. I agree totally Diane. I know that this ‘early to bed’ rhythm is the best for me and my body. I know it and I experience it.
    In my past I was a late-night-girl/woman and would love to sleep very loooong. But did not feel good at all. Always tired, needed Espresso & Sugar to come through the day. Now I am fit and vital – no need for stimulants.
    And the best thing: the time I had in the evening, I now have in the morning, and I found that the morning time is much better and healthier used by me. I love to see the sun rise and feel that I am rising as well these days. It is a Joy to experience.

  626. Wow thanks Diane I had no idea that there was actually scientific research to support the early to bed routine that I have been following myself for the past 10 years. And even if there wasn’t any research backing it up I know that my body responds very well to this rhythm and the health benefits have been huge, so like much of the ageless wisdom we already know it if we just allow our bodies to communicate it to us and then just wait for science to catch up!

  627. Dianne, I would like to see the references of what you have written here. This is really valuable.

  628. Thanks Dianne for your beautiful sharing – what I take with me, the body has its own intelligence and it is a very wise decision, not to disturb the body, when the body is organizing himself.

  629. Thankyou for making the science ( of so many things) so accessible. Great to know that science supports early to bed, as so many people want evidence based proof before even listening to their own bodies. I Love going to bed early and enjoy the early morning quiet time – and those sunrises!

  630. Hi Dianne, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this scientific explanation for why it is so good for us to go to bed early. I have been doing this for quite a number of years now, and can certainly attest that I feel so much better for doing so. It feels so nurturing for me to take myself to bed early, and I truly love being cuddled up in bed early. Then I wake up fresh and bright in the morning, ready to deal with all that comes up in the day. But it is great to have the scientific explanation also, and I will be sharing this one with some family members and also a number of friends who think I am ‘way off the planet’ in wanting to be in bed so early. For some people it takes the scientific for them to start to take some notice.

  631. A great read confirming what my body has always known. I have loved going to bed early from ever since I could remember. I tried to ignore this for awhile, especially during my University years, but I dreaded doing it and it never stuck.

  632. It is fascinating to read how modern science is catching up with and proving what the Ageless Wisdom has forever known. We all know that an early night makes us feel better, so why just one night? Making bed by 9pm the norm and it is no longer early, it is just the time my body tells me it is time to rest and let the hippocampus and friends get to work.

  633. Wow, wow, wow Dianne. I loved reading the science behind going to bed early. I too have be going to bed early at 8 and waking at 3 or 4 and fully attest to benefits of this.

  634. What fascinating research Diane. I live by sleep being my best medicine as that is how my body keeps me well and it has proven itself over and over again. I love getting confirmation here of what I absolutely know to be true.

  635. This is awesome, I love how you make how the brain works so very simple. At the university I have quite struggled with neuroanatomy but the way you described it here is so very easy to understand. You only have to learn the names pathways of the ’email conversations’ and you know all you need to know for your exam.

  636. Awesome blog Dianne. I love how you make ‘science’ very accessible and entertaining for us lay people. Keep them coming please.

  637. We seem to be a society that requires research and proof before we are prepared to believe something, so this research and the way you have explained the scientific elements of sleep and the brain are fascinating. But as you said, in-truth our bodies do not lie and you only need to talk to those who go to bed early or experience it yourself to know the benefits of this…. fingers crossed science will catch up at some point to prove what our bodies already show us to be true.

  638. If this was a school report A+++.
    We know that we should go to bed around 9 – 10pm our bodies naturally respond to this time to go to sleep.

    Research also suggests that people who do shift work have a higher risk of developing health issues..

    We are not merely at the mercy of chance or bad sleeping patterns. We can make changes to best support ourseleves and listening our body is the best place to start.

  639. Another brilliant blog Dianne, I really appreciate and love the way you bring science to us and make it available to use it in our everyday life. As this is what true science is about, to serve all of humanity in our return to where we originally come from, from the all knowing connected with the universe.

  640. Going early to bed and rising early has been life changing in every way for me in how I live my life and relate to the world. This is not something special for myself, it is experienced by many others and with similar effects. The fact that we choose to sleep early is because there is a call in the body around 9pm that calls us to rest, we can’t always do this on the dot, and it is not about perfection, but simply a trust in the body, knowing that there is a greater pull that affects us — with or without direct awareness this is happening, and if we were to trust ourselves, it will simply be followed.

  641. Clearly if Science were true, every Scientific Journal will be written as you have written this awesome article Dianne, and if this happened in my childhood, I would never have resisted Science! Science is not outside of us, but within our bodies and reflected by the natural order of the universe and the stars. Our bodies are scientific experiments in our everyday living choices, we can gather facts on how we choose and this is living Science that has substance, because nothing from the outside of ourselves can refute the absoluteness felt within.

  642. The really cool thing about Ageless Wisdom is we all know it, even though we may not know how to express it, very possibly due to its expression not being mainstream and/or many past experiences of not faring well when it was expressed, we “think” we don’t know it. But our bodies prove us wrong. When we are open to listening, and honoring what we feel, we will find that we are already living and accessing this wisdom, which is offered to all equally, by the way. Science is not truly science to our bodies, until it is tested and tried and felt to be true, by our bodies. And when Science is lived, and then shared as you have Dianne, it is powerful. We can read all the facts and studies in the whole world, but if it is not truly felt for ourselves, they are simply facts and studies, not truly Science.

    1. “The really cool thing about Ageless Wisdom is we all know it, even though we may not know how to express it..” Love this Adele! I know the feeling of knowing the Ancient Wisdom for when Serge Benhayon presents it, every cell in my body nods with deep, innate knowing. But I would not have been able to express it before that moment for it has not been a lived experience in my body for many lifetimes and so was buried beneath layers of experiences and choices that were not aligned to it.

  643. Using the office analogy makes this scientific explanation so understandable and meaningful, thank you, and makes it much easier to choose to heed those yawns and be asleep by 9pm. And that stress hormone, cortisol, sounds like that attention-seeking office person who swans around with doughnuts and coffee for everyone, interrupting and distracting people from their tasks!

  644. This is a must read for everyone, particularly those that thought going to bed early was just for kids and old people, as I know I did. Thank you for compiling all the information necessary for us to make an informed choice Dianne. You have made it very clear that going to bed early is really about taking responsibility for our health in a practical and very do-able way.

    1. Yes, it’s amazing how we tell our children, it’s time for bed, because they need to get a good nights sleep and then stay up to midnight ourselves! What message are we sending? It’s just like saying don’t drink alcohol or don’t smoke, same thing.

  645. Thank you Dianne, you bring such clarity to science and the body. I really love this article and will return to it again.

  646. Dianne it is patently obvious that you honour these natural rhythms with the clear and deeply profound way you write. I love your analogy of the effect of the tidal wave not being felt until it reaches the shore line, later on in life. The choices to ignore our bodies and how we feel when we do, irrevocably tie in to all our choices that influence our health, our quality of thought and our capacity to live truly well. You have brought temporal science to the ageless wisdom in a masterful way.

  647. The richness of what is on offer in understanding how our bodies respond to our choices is immense and I am so appreciative of you sharing this with us Dianne. There is no legitimate excuse for not truly honouring our body and yet there is a constant pull for us to engage in behaviours or and activities that make us care less not take responsibility for the consequences. Even my reactions to others, my beliefs and ideals affect my body and I am learning the impact of not honouring it, as it so deserves. Thank you.

  648. Thanks for sharing this in an easy to understand manner. A beautiful confirmation of what the body has been telling us all along, if we choose to connect and listen to it.

  649. You have a wonderful and clear knack at supporting the ageless wisdom with the science that’s available Dianne. I’m religious about sleeping before 9pm with a ritual to wind-down to boot. I’ve never felt better than with several months of quality, early to bed type sleep in the bank!

  650. Great blog Dianne, I certainly feel better with early to bed and early to rise. Our forefathers would have done it without question.

  651. Thanks Dianne for your beautiful science on sleep. I find going to bed early something that I really love to do now, and my body is definitely ready for every night around 8-9pm, but initially it was hard to do as I was used to staying up late, so I couldn’t get to sleep, but then when I decided to get up early at around 3-4am, I found initially I was very tired doing this but then my body was able to readjust to the new sleep/wake rhythm and going to bed early was then easy, due to the fact that I had first got up early and so I was then more tired and ready for bed early. But there was another thing going on and that was that I was getting a better quality of sleep rather than the exhausted sleep I was getting previously. It seems that if you get to bed late, then having the same amount of hours just isn’t as rejuvenating as the same hours earlier. This I have since discovered is due to the fact that certain hormones such as melatonin and growth hormones are secreted around 9pm till about midnight or 1am and does a better job of helping us to heal and regenerate when we are sleeping during this time frame. That’s why it seems difficult to ‘catch up’ on sleep we have missed when we have a late night.

    1. So true suekira, those early hours in the evening a certainly gold in terms of quality of sleep. I have found if I go to bed slightly later at say 9.30- 10pm I do not get the same quality of sleep than if I went to bed at 8.30pm. Those first few hours are vital.

      1. What you have shared here is so helpful and supportive Sue. I have no problem getting to sleep early when I do, but I work shifts as so will often not be in bed before 11pm. The temptation for me is then to sleep in the next morning if possible (until my body naturally wakes) however then I find my rhythm is all out of whack and I can then find that even if I then go to bed early in subsequent nights, I can really struggle to wake up as early as would like to. What I have realised after reading your comment is that it’s understandable that I would feel tired after having a late night, but the most supportive thing for me would be to set an alarm to wake me up earlier than I might wake if left to my own devices. Sure i might feel tired for some of the day, but this will support me to then go to bed earlier when I next can, so my rhythm remain unaffected by the irregular shift patterns. Thank you.

  652. Working shift work I don’t always get to bed early, sometimes it’s quite late. One thing that I have observed whether I am at home or work is that I do very naturally start to feel tired around 8pm, sometimes earlier. It feels important to acknowledge this, for if I do I am less likely to push myself through this. Simply acknowledging that I am tired has meant that I just become super gentle with myself, even when I am at work…how I walk, sit, move about, interact with people etc. That too makes a world of difference.

    1. I can very much relate to that Jennifer – unless I acknowledge what I feel, I am not able to make a stop and from there make a choice that is deeply caring of myself – and it would make it easy to fall back into old patterns of pushing and overriding what the body tells me.

  653. Thank you Dianne for presenting this very simple science that just makes so much sense. I have often felt tired around 8 or 9 pm but used to override it until what I ‘thought’ needed to be done, was done…letting my mind be in control and ignoring my body – pushing it beyond where it was at and irrelevant of what it actually needed. Going to bed by 9pm feels very loving and supportive of our body.

  654. Going to bed early, when our body naturally feels tired seems like a very simple choice. Not listening to this looks like it creates lots of complex problems.

  655. Dianne, over the last years as I have changed the way I am living in my day I have noticed when I lay myself down to sleep I am not laying down an exhausted body which means my body doesn’t have to work as hard to clear, and I awake feeling refreshed. If I don’t it is a signal I have been pushing it, simple science really…

  656. It’s interesting to consider how resistant we can be to going to bed early and why. I am now in bed between 9 and 9.30pm, but this was not always the case for me. I would sit up and watch TV, eat late and be in bed somewhere around 10.30pm or even later. What was interesting about this, and you said this very clearly Dianne, was that my body was telling me how tired I was and that it was ready for bed around 8pm, but I would often ignore it. Interestingly, that in itself never actually stopped me from falling asleep. I would most nights fall asleep in front of the TV, to only have to wake up to go to bed. Sounds funny, but it felt terrible. It feels awful to have to wake yourself up to only then go to bed to fall asleep. So my body was telling me loud and clear…go to bed!! I feel so different now that I go to bed when I feel tired, very honouring and very supportive of me.

  657. Since choosing to go to bed by 9pm about 7 years ago it has been amazing to see and feel the positive differences that have affected all areas of my life. What is fabulous here Dianne is to read of what actually occurs within our body, the amazing wisdom our body has in its rhythms, and the very valid reasons of why it is wise to be in bed by 9 – even if our only reason to do this is to support our bodies in their natural rhythms.

  658. In the world we live in today with the many distractions it can be easy to lose touch with our natural cycles and rhythms. When we stay connected with nature and the nature of our bodies we do feel and know what is truly supportive.

  659. “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from (and would be unwise to try).” Wow – this sentence stopped me in my tracks and allowed me to feel how arrogant I have been thinking that the way I choose to sleep is only about me. I can feel that the way I choose to sleep also affects the planet, the moon, the sun, the whole cosmos and of course everyone in it.

    1. Yes Leonne, It was a very cool sentence which I also enjoyed. “Massive energies synchronising all living bodies” makes complete sense to me.

  660. A pretty cool blog Dianne. I love retrospective science! When I have been away from civilisation and those monster coal burning power stations and the electricity they provide that allows us to be entertained all night long, I get in the habit of going to bed soon after dark and getting up as soon as it is light.
    I know that when when I live like this I feel more vibrant and full of life. Furthermore we notice the natural effects of the sun and the seasons, in summer when the days are long we actually need less sleep and in the winter when the days are short we need more sleep.

  661. “The truth is already accessible from our own bodies (which know), if only we Listen and that listening and knowing does not require scientific education or years of research”. It’s crazy how much we depend on science to give us the answers instead of trusting what we can feel within our bodies and we have access to all of the time.

  662. I really enjoyed reading your explanation of why it makes sense on a physiological level that we go to bed early, and I also have experienced these benefits in my own body which just confirms what you are presenting.

  663. The beauty of being in connection with our bodies is as beautiful as watching a flower bloom. Everything in it’s divine beauty and order, nothing forced or controlled but all is surrendered to the movements of the cosmos.

    1. That is very beautifully expressed Kim, and so true. When we allow ourselves to be the love that we are, we are magnetically pulled towards all that is of this love.

  664. Hi Dianne. I have also been benefiting from early nights and early mornings. My energy level have improved, the steadiness I feel and clarity in which work and process are all indicators that support this choice. Reading the scientific background is re-affirming but as you said not needed, because the wisdom of our own bodies have already communicated this to us. For those that like to have the scientific evidence, this will be really supportive. Thank you for the research. Serge Benhayon has invited us considering the way we live our lives and his subsequent evidence via his own livingness has also been profound and for this I feel deep appreciation.

  665. I absolute love when science proves the ageless wisdom over and over again. Many feel they need science to trust what they have always known.

    1. I absolutely agree, kimweston2. It is great to have Dianne finding these scientific explanations for us. Then we can share the information more widely.

    2. Yes I love that too. Watching Science catch up to the Ageless Wisdom and Serge Benhayon is priceless.

  666. What you have presented here Dianne is so very interesting. So many people I know push themselves into the night to have some time just for themselves, which begs me to go back to the original question and ask “how are we living?”. Personally, I don’t have a problem with going to bed early, but I do have a problem with waking up. Constant exhaustion. It is this that is driving me crazy.

    1. Maree there isn’t a person I know outside of the esoteric community that goes to bed before 9pm, not even close. Many students I teach say they stay up until midnight or later, often on social media. They come to school complete zombies and many using food and energy drinks to get them through the day. The consequences of lack of sleep is catastrophic for the body. The choices that then follow from the lack of sleep only perpetuates the problem with many being unable to sleep due to the amount of sugar in their body. It is a vicious cycle to be trapped on. Going to bed early is amazing and I honestly can’t stay up past 9pm without it seriously impacting my energy levels. Luckily that is very rare nowadays.

  667. Dianne, I love the way you present the science of this, simple and irrefutable – we cannot get away from our bodies, it’s cycles and the wider cycles of the planet we live on. I know my sleep cycle has changed over the last 10 years and I’m now more vital and alive than 10 years ago despite being older! Our bodies do know, and we just need to listen.

    1. Well said Monica, it is actually living in rhythm with the natural cycles of our planet. I love to rise with the sun or sometimes just before the sun and rest as the sun goes down. What I have found, is that in that rising and resting it is not about being awake and racy or asleep and crashed out, but understanding there is a way to prepare for the start and the end of the day that can be guided by the body, not the clock.

      1. I love the detail here Lucy, a way to prepare for the dawn and the dusk such that our bodies are in line with the rhythm – what delicious care, and I know when I do this I feel amazing.

    2. I too am older yet more vital. Many thanks to loving choices and for taking myself off to bed before 9pm each night. A total game changing choice to one’s life.

  668. I have always know that going to bed early felt amazing but thought that there was something wrong with me that I couldn’t stay up late & felt so awful when I did. Our bodies do know, and as you share, all we have to do is choose to listen to our bodies rather than try to follow ‘the norm’, which has been scientifically shown to be detrimental to our health.

    1. I used to feel this way Carmin. Thinking what is wrong with me, I love going to bed early and I love getting up very early. People would also confirm my worry by thinking I was crazy. In shared houses over the years I was often up 3-5 hours before anyone. I’ve always known sleep was important, but now even more so. Isn’t it interesting that we don’t even need science to inform us with the latest research, we just need to check in with our bodies and listen to the messages it sends. Our bodies are only confirming Science, not the other way round.

  669. Dianne thank you for sharing the evidence of what my body had already let me know when I started listening to it.

  670. Wow Dianne this makes so much sense! When I used to not have a regular bedtime I always used to wake up at around 7 am and still be tired! But now I can sleep from 8:30 or 9pm and wake up between 4 and 5 usually and feel very refreshed! And I really enjoyed reading about the hippocampus and how it works in cycles, and that it shrinks if our natural sleep cycle is ignored.

  671. In my experience we often don’t pay enough attention to the cycles of our body, or that it even has any. Beautiful how they are linked in with the movements of the whole cosmos.

  672. Wow, the true science behind sleeping. I never knew about anything you said Dianne. Beautiful explanation of what happens in our minds during sleep, pays off to sleep at 9 then.

  673. Love your writing Dianne and the joy you bring to life’s internal workings. It just makes so much sense (in a mega way) and inspires me to help my hippocampus.

  674. This post is a game changer Dianne for millions, if not billions. I am definitely not one of those people who needs science to tell me how I should be living in order to feel the greatest and most healthy I can be, but I love the confirmation that science and scientific research brings to solidify that what I have discovered for myself works. And I reckon there are many more people who are like me in this regard. Thank you for spelling it out most clearly and playfully. A fabulous piece for high school biology classes.

    1. Great idea Suzanne, imagine us all being educated to love our bodies to this degree from early in our schooling years or even before by our parents. The best parties I have ever been to have started late afternoon and finished up by about 7pm.

    2. I agree with you suzanne anderssen, this post is a game changer. It already knew my body benefitted from going to bed early, I have always preferred to do so, hated late nights most of my life. But to have the confirmation from science and scientific research is really great for my understanding, but also to be shared far more widely without being completely ridiculed. It should be enough for many people to sit up and take notice of this research. At least for those who are open to the possibility. And a great idea for it to be shared in high school biology classes. We don’t seem to hear about this sort of research, unless someone like Dianne Trussell shares it with us. The media don’t appear to be keen on sharing this type of result.

    3. Absolutely Suzanne, this would be the most amazing piece for schools – what Dianne offers here needs to be spread wide and far.

  675. Thank you Dianne for a great expose on the science of sleep patterns. It certainly makes sense and also validates that since I have changed my sleeping patterns I have a healthier rhythm in my life and need a lot less sleep because I go to bed already ‘wound down’.

  676. Beautiful post Dianne. I found it incredible fascinating how Science is catching up on so many ‘facts’ that are already experienced by so many people for a long time. I am going to bed early for about 6, 7 years and everytime I go to bed later, I can feel how this effects my next day. Allthough I’ve also found out that the quality in which I put myself to bed and go to sleep also makes a huge difference. So it’s the care (21.00 to bed) and the nurturing (the quality) that both influence my sleep hugely, and hence my vitality for the next day.

  677. Diane, I just love how you take something that I know very little about and make it into something so very, very interesting and easy to understand – you make science come alive, while at the same time sharing information that can be so life changing. And I have found from conducting my own sleep experiment, that going to bed early is definitely a life changer.

    1. I agree Ingrid, Diane has a way that brings science alive, her passion and excitement of finding connection between it, and the ageless wisdom is infectious.

    2. Ingrid I feel you are an expert on sleep. In fact we all are, given our daily experiences of sleep. The scientific part is essentially the knowledge that confirms what we know inherently from our lived experiences and our own daily scientific experiments.

    3. Dianne certainly has a way of bringing science alive so that it is easily understood – I love it. If this was presented in this way in school science classes, then people then know they are making a choice to either go to bed early and feel the benefits, or not. But even though we actually know this science without it being taught (we all know how much better we feel from an early night), it would be so beneficial to learn at a young age. It has the potential to change a lot of destructive behaviour like staying up late to watch TV, stay on the internet or even swatting for exams or working late, and getting up early instead to study or work after a solid sleep.

  678. Fantastic Dianne. I’ve personally experienced the amazing benefits of going to bed consistently by 9pm and how fresh and revitalised I feel in the early hours of the morning, easy to go for the new day. Years past I was in bed late every night and I remember my days being characterised by a lot of anxiousness. What you’ve written here makes a lot of sense as to why.

  679. Fascinating Dianne – thank you very much for presenting the physiological changes that take place during sleep time. Your article confirms what I’ve always known, and have been living fairly consistently for around 8 years, and that is, I feel more energised when I get to bed by around 9pm and sleep for 6-8 hours rather than going to bed at say midnight and sleeping for 8-10 hours. You’ve confirmed for me what takes place physiologically in our bodies.

    1. I agree with you Sandra Dallimore, in your comparison of going to bed early and going to bed late, yet sleeping for longer. I remember my grandma saying years ago, that the sleep before midnight was far more important than sleeping longer after going to bed late. I feel people knew these things in the past, just knew it (and probably felt it in the first place).

      1. I knew it in my 20s when I slept from the wee small hours of the morning for 8-10 hrs and still woke up tired. We don’t need science to prove to us what we intrinsically know, but for all the sceptics, the scientific proof supports what is known.

  680. Our bodies already know the Truth – what a science to behold! We’re actually behind time when we wait for science to prove what we can know so easily, if we listen to our bodies. There can often be resistance that stops us from living this way whether that be societal resistance or resistance within ourselves – these are the only barriers to knowing and living this simple EVERYDAY Science.

  681. This is quite simply awesome, Dianne. I love to read the science that backs up what we already know in our bodies. I used to go to bed at around 11 or 12 every night (10 was considered an early one), struggle to get up, and then fly from bed to leave for work in about an hour.
    When it was presented to me that our body works best if we go to bed at 9:00, I scoffed at the idea initially, but thought I’d give it a try. I allowed myself to listen to what my body was feeling throughout the evening, and at around 8:30 there was a very clear signal of “let’s go to bed”.
    This led me to question why we resist this impulse? I know that I am not alone in this feeling, and the research in this article shows that our bodies are designed to go to sleep at this time, so what is going on?
    What I feel is that there is an idea of “being an adult” and “doing adult things” that is a holdover from childhood. As a kid one of the greatest mysteries is what adults do after you go to bed. Bedtime is usually something that is argued and delayed as much as possible because you don’t want to miss out on what is going on. Once we become adults going to bed early becomes tantamount to going back to childhood, and giving up that hard won right to do whatever we want. Even if that means shrinking our hippocampus and getting a bad night’s sleep!

    1. I love your reference here to ‘going to bed early becomes tantamount to going back to childhood, and giving up that hard won right to do whatever we want’. Being adult has a consciousness to it that really screws with the truth that our bodies are communicating with us all the time – it’s natural. And yet for many years I have sought to fit in and believed my life was fundamentally programmed by what others did. What a gift to come back to my responsibility for me! ‘I was lost and now I’m found’. Mmm… that sounds familiar …and now takes on a truer meaning.

      1. An awesome gift indeed! As children we are always looking to adults to check how to behave. We model ourselves on them constantly. So, you are not alone in being programmed by what others do. But we must ask ourselves what kind of role models did we truly have, and what kind of role models are we being?

    2. I appreciate your reference to the holdover from childhood Naren. I was made aware of this recently in talking with a friend who also scoffed at the idea of going to bed early. There was a holding onto the ‘rebellion’ and of ‘doing it my way’ that was not allowing for her connection to our bodies natural rhythm. A defiant stubbornness was chosen instead of what her body was calling for.

    3. Naren, this makes a whole lot of sense – I can certainly very much relate to it, I too used to stretch the nights as long as possible and that started already in childhood, I did not want to miss out! It is a set up from early age that turns into an arrogance as we grow up and become an adult.

  682. Thank you Dianne for another delicious blog from your hand. Just like you my body is telling me loud and clear how it loves going to bed early. The way you’ve described the activities in my head at night makes it more clear how important it is for me and my body to get in my bed early ( never a punishment to get there), it is great to know that everything is put in to place and is sorted out while I have my rejuvenating sleep. You know I am getting more beautiful every night and day.

  683. Thank you Dianne for this awesome article. I have had trouble finding clear information on sleep physiology and the benefits of getting to bed early. This is very clear and inspires me to be more consistent with myself in this in ensuring my body gets enough rest and at the right times.

  684. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, you make science so approachable and so much fun Dianne.
    I agree with you about going to bed early, it has been proven to be a game changer in my life also, my ‘office’, the ‘filing cabinets’ so much more orderly making it easier file away and to access information and thus making my daily life much less stressful and more enjoyable and productive all round.
    I also love how the wisdom of our bodies is so freely available to us should we make the choice to listen. I didn’t listen at all for the first 50 years of my life, I didnt know how, though I used to complain about the way it was ‘letting me down’ a lot.
    What Serge Benhayon presents turned my thinking and behaviour on its head (!) too, so it is wonderful to read of your investigations and that science and research now are confirming what he has been sharing for many years.

  685. Hi Diane, We so often rely on research to tell us what we need to know, so what you are saying here Diane is so refreshing and easy to understand. There is no need to wait for someone else to tell us if our bodies already know what it needs to do. By just listening to our bodies, we would be a lot healthier than we are today.

  686. Adhere to our bodies rhythms and our bodies say ‘hallelujah’ – you are with me, lets roll!

    1. It’s great when you give voice to the body and you say what the body would say, cause then you realize exactly what you are doing. In this case the body when we go to bed early: “hallelujah, you are with me, let´s roll”. Love it.

    2. It sounds incredibly simple when you say it like that Marcia – and the good news is, it is true!

  687. Love your palpable delivery in the science of early to bed Dianne Trussell. There is no denying the greater picture of what we belong to which you share here – “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from.” Going against the natural grain of our bodies cycles spells out disaster zone!

    1. There’s not a doubt whatsoever in me, that Dianne nails the point with regard to whether or not, it’s intelligent to go against the cosmos’ cycles. One better, is the fact that Dianne then goes on to explain we all have the equipment (a body) to feel what’s best for ourselves.

  688. Great to hear the science behind what my body has been telling me already Dianne. I love early nights now and really enjoy preparing for sleep each night. When I ponder why I used to resist early nights for so long, a few reasons come to mind. Firstly, it was a great way to keep myself in a cycle of being tired and therefore unable to feel how amazing I was. Secondly, if I went to bed early I would often lay there with a busy mind – I did not know how to deal with this so if I went to bed later I could just pass out. I now understand that a busy mind is reflective of how I have been lacking in presence and running on command of my mind throughout the day, without checking in with and listening to my body. Finally, I would also not want to feel the emptiness of how I was living, so I would make sure I kept busy and filled my life up with doing things right up until I was tired enough to just pass out. These days it feels lovely to not just pass out but to allow myself the space to connect with and feel my body before I go to sleep.

    1. Simone,
      I so understand the busy mind and wanting to check out in front of the tv until I was totally exhausted so that I could escape my busy mind. Choosing to live in and from my body has completely changed my nightly ritual and as Dianne says, going to bed early has changed my life..

      1. It is so cool isn’t it Leigh. Early nights is a complete life changer. Yet, as a society, we have become so accepting of late nights and all-nighters. Dianne is offering a new way forward here. Thank goodness!

  689. Fascinating Dianne, thank you for this light-hearted science class! Loved reading it and my own experience is also that I wake up feeling revigorated when I go to bed before 9pm. Last week, due to travel, I went to bed later than my usual time and yes, I slept for a bit longer and I slept all way through the night. However I realised I was not feeling as rested as I normally feel with my usual sleeping routine.

      1. Yes Leigh, this happens to me too. I sometimes want to meet people that I cannot see otherwise and have a late night and the next day I am not the same. I feel less stable emotionally, prone to ups and downs, more tired, less equipped to deal with sudden difficulties or challenges that every day brings.

  690. I still love the fact that there are plenty of scientific studies that confirm what we have already felt in our bodies. And beautiful that the biology and physiology of our human body is in sync with the energetic truth of the ageless wisdom., isn´t it?

  691. I also love that you have nailed the science we have been presented with at school and growing up, and a science that is still out there to a very huge extent – the dominating belief that we need to have a ‘scientific’ brain to understand science – when this is so far from the truth. The truth is, as Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine, and the Ageless wisdom present – we are living science and our bodies and choices are the living proof. Science is everything and everything is science. Even God is Science.

  692. I also love the fact that you present we are part of a much bigger cycle and process of life – it confirms everything we have already known and have been presented with for years, from the way different civilisations lived in harmony and nature with the earth, moon, planets and stars, to how the farmers still work to this day, in process with the weather, seasons and cycles of the year, how nature has cycles, along with the planets and the sun, everything reflects to us these cycles, so why would we not be part of this. If the entire cosmos adheres to these cycles, would it not be wise to listen and adhere to these cycles too? “The cycles to which our bodies naturally work are tied to much bigger and precise cycles of the planet, the moon, the sun, and in fact the whole cosmos, massive energies synchronizing all living bodies, that we can’t escape from.”

    1. So true Gylrae. Knowing we are part of a much bigger picture makes sense. As a child I remember being told ‘early to bed and early to rise, makes a child healthy, wealthy and wise’. I wasn’t convinced at the time but reading Diane’s blog, confirms the wisdom of this little ditty. It is interesting that so much outside of our inner knowing, is there to tempt us not to listen to our bodies, in the form of television, social events and much more.I for one have fallen into this trap in the past and do not always get to bed by 9pm but Diane’s blog explaining it through science in such an accessible way has really made sense to me and given me a new marker of truth and understanding.

  694. “Go to bed early it can change your life”….I love this short and simple but very powerful line. Thank you Dianne for explaining why it really does works to go to bed early, I knew that it certainly helped me organise my day more by getting up earlier…I could get so much more done in the mornings than I do later in the day. Understanding what happens in our sleep time from 9pm makes me realise it is even more important to go to bed around this time and if I don’t, it now makes sense why I always feel like I am playing catch up with my day.

  695. This is a beautiful confirmation of what I experienced myself, and actually always have known. The time we go to bed has as these studies shown an enormous effect on our lives.

  696. Thank you Diana for the scientific backing of a choice I have made already quite some time ago. I must say that I have never been one to go to bed late as it has always felt so supporting to go to sleep when my body is showing me it is time. Of course I could stay up till later but then I needed substances to keep me awake, for me mostly sugary things as coffee or alcohol were not my cup of tea.

  697. Despite all of the scientific research, we can be miles ahead if we honour our bodies and sleep to the true rhythm it impulses us with. We don’t have to wait for science to tell us what our bodies are already telling us all of the time.

  698. Wow this is a great study on the impact of sleep-time on the body. From my personal experience I second every word. I used to go to bed very late and needed many hours of sleep and never felt really vital in the morning, needing strong espresso coffee to get going. My body naturally would feel tired around 8:00 or 9:00 PM, but I would override it and get a second wind staying up till after midnight and often falling asleep due to the soothing, but toxic haze of red wine. Since going to bed around 9:00PM my life has changed totally. I am vital after 6 hours of sleep, have energy to work and be really present during the whole day, no ups and downs and have a clarity I never had before. And I don’t need alcohol to get me sleepy.

    1. It really is amazing the difference that going to bed early has on our wellbeing and vitality, Rachel. I even enjoy feeling tired and getting ready for bed, because I know that I am honouring my body and caring for myself deeply.

    2. Yes Rachel, I also have found my personal experience very interesting as I used to sleep 10 hours a night and never wake up feeling refreshed, needing all sorts of stimulants to get me through the day and well into the next night. When I started to go to sleep before 9pm everything changed, I no longer needed stimulants and cut caffeine, alcohol and sugar right out of my diet along with carbohydrates. Also I found that I no longer needed to sleep the long hours, often starting my day between 3-4am; unless I have had a very physical day’s work the day before and find myself sleeping in until 4.30-5am! An enormous difference to what was once my norm, as it is not just that I wake up in the early hours of the morning, it is the fact that I start working at these times and often have put in a good 4 hours before starting my day job. Thanks to the inspiration of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

  699. Dianne, I love this blog, the combination of science, the lightness in which you present it (normally I stop reading when it becomes ‘too scientific’) and then at the end how you bring in the body, which is our own science project. I am with you, I love going to bed around 9 pm, not because of what you share in your blog but just because it feels like the most loving choice to make.

  700. Brilliant ! Thanks Dianne for this beautiful summary and for linking experiential knowledge with what`s actually and literally going on in the brain !

  701. Awesome Dianne. Thanks for presenting the science behind the sleep rhythm. It’s great to be able to put the words to the effects that are occurring within the body from a sleep routine that comes from the body first and not driven by the mind. I have well tested this science and can say without any doubt that early to bed sleep rhythm is the one for me.

  702. Dianne, I can only repeat myself, I thank God and the Heavens for having you in my life, you have brought science to me like no other. Science is in no way abstract or arrogant nor superior and for the selected few but it is common sense, real, very down to earth and relatable and everybody lives their own case study and scientific proof.

    1. So true Esther, Dianne’s expression of science makes so much sense and the reference to the ‘office work’ that goes on in the brain of a night is a perfect example! I loved it!

    2. I will second that Esther, as this is written in a such an accessible way that I can even share it with a couple of kids I have in mind who fight for the right to stay up late and then are stressed and depressed. Thanks Dianne from me also.

    3. I agree Esther and thank you Dianne, I love the analogy with the office work being done inside my brain and things are filed away as I love everything to be in order – what a beautiful picture to go to sleep with.

    4. Beautifully said Esther – I too have realised that science is not for the selected few. We are indeed living case studies.

  703. The way you present scientific facts makes science accessible to all and supports the understanding that our lives are actually one big scientific experiment. I too have discovered going to bed around 9pm regularly has a massive impact on my health and well-being, I have found it awesome and supportive to have a scientific understanding presented to me in this way. Reading about the body’s responses and workings due to going to bed early makes me marvel at the intelligence our bodies have, and confirms my understanding of how grand and powerful we are. How could anyone doubt the existence of God when presented with the scientific facts of our bodies intelligence?

    1. I agree tonisteenson, our bodies just know and are naturally very intelligent, even when we override our body’s messages it adapts and changes, but in doing so it’s communicating to us all the time…saying ‘wrong way go back’. Our choice is in whether we listen.

      1. Beautifully said Jennifer and the beauty I am finding is that it is not at all hard to go back and begin with a new choice. The changes that happen in my body, sometimes in just one day, from making such a decision is all the proof that I need that simple changes in how I live, fully and completely affect how my body is.

      2. Yes and the more we start to listen to our bodies the more attuned we become to the messages our bodies are sending us in each and every moment.

    2. Very well said tonisteenson – by honouring our bodies we open up for the true grandness and power that we all are.

    3. It’s so amazing when we already know this just by listening and honouring the body. When science aligns to the all and confirms it, every part of me celebrates the joy of the confirmation.

  704. Early to bed for me means before 8 pm. Late to bed means anything after 9.30 pm.
    I don’t know about the state of my hippocampus but if I wisely wind down and let go of the day before bed and sleep for up to 6 hours I have a wealth of vitality and energy for the new day.

    1. Yes same for me Helen, if I take time to prepare my body for bed it does affect the quality of my sleep. Makes sense really, if we fall into bed rushed and exhausted the body has to work so much harder to bring the body back to balance and harmony. Sometimes not possible in one night so we wake up exhausted. The way we are living through the day really does affect the quality of our sleep and how we awake.

  705. It is fascinating to read this article explaining the medical background and presenting research results which confirm what I know and have experienced in my own body in relation to the effects of adjusting sleep patterns.

    1. I loved getting the chemistry lesson or is it biology? Anyway I loved the lesson on the internal workings of the body that confirm what I know works for me.

    2. I agree. And to be honest I didn’t even know there was scientific study and proof to back this up. I loved reading the documented science behind it.

  706. Thanks Dianne for providing scientific understanding that confirms the reason why being asleep by 9pm is a wise thing to do but as you say our bodies are telling us this already loud and clear.

    1. It is great to have the scientific proof confirming that which many already know and live. Even without the scientific proof, it makes complete sense and only needs to be put into practice for any person to confirm its truth. The science of life and our bodies is a great confirmation.

  707. I so love how you write Dianne. The joy, humor and oh so practical nature you have is just divine. I am sharing this article with all of my friends. Thank you.

    1. I feel the same way. Dianne’s way of writing is simply gorgeous, expanding and unifying without holding any reservations for sharing the whole truth. Thanks Dianne.

    2. Absolutely Leigh. There is true science easily understandable. You feel in you how it is possible. I am sharing this on social media and to all people who have issues sleeping. Thank you Dianne Trussell.

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