علم الزمن والوقت
Since the day I started research in the subject of “time” and “sleep and insomnia” consecutively for about thirty years, by reading about “the standard sleeping hours”. Quantitative research is used to set a specific quantitative criterion to every schedule like: the number of working hours, the number of rest hours, the recommended time for sport, the best time for food, etc.
However, I did not come up with a clear opinion, perhaps the best conclusion I ended up with is that people’s nature differs, so does their health, psychological, social and even their environmental aspect. Human beings go through some stages through which they need much sleep and other stages they need less sleep. some opinions which relate this amount to the internal biological hours of a human; meaning that the number of hours of sleep is proportional, it has a minimum and maximum limit, the minimum amount is four hours, but the maximum amount is nine hours.
Among the good guidance based on experiments and the scientific research is that “the time of sleep” is more important than “the length of sleep”; in addition to anything that has to do with sleep like psychological state, the level of comfort, calmness and noise, cold and hot weather, regularity and irregularity, the type of food and the time of having it.
Sleep for instance between Isha and dawn (2 a.m.) is the ideal time; whereas staying up late till midnight then sleeping until sunrise is unhealthy and has consequences and negative effects on humans.
“Hal Elrod” says in his book of “The Miracle Morning” “through experiment, I discovered that the impact of sleep on our physiology is largely conditioned on our personal beliefs about the number of hours we need” whoever believes he needs eight hours; six and seven hours would not be enough for him; and whoever believes, he needs only four hours, he would get up after four hours in an active and dynamic way. This means that sleep depends on psychology, mental perceptions and physiological preparations.
The Holy Qur’an has tackled this subject clearly in Al-Muzzammil chapter. It explained that the alteration between sleeping and standing up at night for supplication is not subject to a specific number or amount, rather to the conditions and preparations, as the Almighty Allah says “O thou folded in garments! Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night, Half of it,- or a little less, Or a little more; and recite the Quran in slow, measured rhythmic tones”.
In the interpretation of “Al-Muzzammil chapter”, as part of “paradigm” series, the holy verse indicates that the Messenger may Allah bless him and grant him peace was offered to choose to stand up for the night prayer either for half of the night, less than a half or a bit more as well, taking into account the circumstances and the motivation of oneself”.
There is no doubt that the way and the period during which we wake up has a considerable impact on our sleep satisfaction or vice versa. Therefore, the best way to wake up is the autonomous way without relying on the alarm clock or any device, which comes often by practice and training.
The person’s ambition is the fundamental point, it is the focal point of the relationship between the Creator and the creature, space and time, the body the and mind, the spirit and the soul, sleep and wakefulness. Ibn Arabi advised one of his students “do not sleep unless you feel fatigue and do not eat unless you feel hungry”.
The rule I have concluded is: “do not care about the number of hours you sleep, but care about the time you sleep, your psychological and faithful condition and the circumstances in which you sleep, as well as the way you wake up from sleep”.
Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Within the book that in the process of writing about “Dawn and Early Morning Time” between starting points of revelation, constraints of reality and the tax of dependency and obsession.
Written by: Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Translated by: Toufik Achour
Date:09/10/2023
The Article title in Arabic: “عدد ساعات النوم” و”ظروف النوم” أيهما أقوم قيلاً
