Nocturnal emissions.
Many of you may know that I've been considering going nocturnal for some time this semester. While the idea of going nocturnal was very exciting to me - I'd have more time to do the things I want (like hang out with my friends, succeed in school, exercise, and - let's face it - blog) and I'd spend less time doing the things I'd rather not do (like sit around and be bored) - it made me a little nervous.

After all, I'd been bombarded my entire life with "information" like "normal people go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am," "the best sleep that you get is before midnight" and, worst of all "sleep is for lazy people." But after reading this fine blog post on fact and fiction about sleep cycles (thanks, Boing Boing!), I feel a lot better about the whole thing:

I see some striking parallels between the way this society treats sleep and the way it treats sex. Both are sinful activities, associated with one of the Seven Deadly Sins (Sloth and Lust). Both are associated with the most powerful biological needs. Both are supposed to be a taboo topic. Both are supposed to be done in private, at night, with a pretense that it is never actually happening. Education in sleep hygiene and sex hygiene are both slighted, one way or another (the former passively, the latter actively opposed). Both are thought to interfere with one's productivity - ah, the good old Protestant work ethic! Why are Avarice and Greed not treated the same way? Raking in money by selling mega-burgers is just fine, and a decent topic of conversation, even a point of pride. Why are we still allowing Puritan Calvinist way of thinking, coupled with capitalist creed, to still guide the way we live our lives, or even think about life. Sleeping, whether with someone or alone, is a basic human need, thus a basic human right. Neither really detracts from the workplace productivity - au contraire: well rested and well satisfied people are happy, energetic, enthusiastic and productive. It is sleep repressed people, along with the dour sex repressed people, who are the problem, making everyone nervous. How much longer are we going to hide under the covers?

So I've decided to take the plunge; as of tonight, I'm going nocturnal. I'll stay up all night, go to class, go to bed (around 11am or noon) and wake up when I wake up. I'll be chronicling my experiences with this in a series of blog posts entitled - you guessed it - "Nocturnal Emissions."

Look forward to more as the semester continues, and wish me luck!