1. Introduction to going to sleep late at night

All of us would like to know how to sleep well so as to be at our best when we get up. One of the important parameters involved in how to sleep well is the time of going to sleep. Most of us have experienced that we are not at our best in the morning when we go to sleep late. Some of us are aware about the ill-effects of going to sleep late at night at a physical and psychological level. However either due to pressure of work or partying, more and more people are going to sleep late at night. In this article we take a look at what happens in the subtle dimension when we go to sleep late at night. This will help us take an educated decision about how to sleep well from the perspective of when we should go to sleep at night.

2. Spiritual research about how to sleep well – time of going to sleep

Seekers of SSRF having advanced sixth sense or extrasensory perception (ESP) investigated at a spiritual level the effect of the time of going to sleep as a parameter of how to sleep well. The divine knowledge that they received was verified by His Holiness Dr. Athavale.

3. Benefit of our actions as per the time after sunset

From sunrise to sunset clockwise or positive frequencies are moving in the atmosphere. After sunset the anticlockwise or distressing frequencies start moving in the atmosphere. Hence we get progressively lesser and lesser benefit of our actions. To understand this in further detail let us divide the 12 hours between sunset to sunrise in 4 blocks of 3 hours each. The following diagram shows how the benefit of our actions are compromised after sunset. (In this example we have taken 6:00 PM as the time of sunset and 6:00 AM as the time of sunrise.)

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4. Increasing influence of subtle basic Raja-Tama at night

The time after sunset is a period of higher subtle basic Raja–Tama activity. This subtle basic Raja–Tama component goes on increasing as the night starts advancing. The subtle basic Raja–Tama component is not conducive to positive activity. Hence when we try to accomplish something during the period after sunset we have to work against the tide of higher subtle basic Raja-Tama component. Thus a lot of our energy is wasted in just overcoming the negative influence of the heightened subtle basic Raja-Tama component. As a result to accomplish any task we end up having to spend much more energy.

The fluctuation of the subtle basic components of Sattva, Raja and Tama is by 5%. During the early morning hours the subtle basic Sattva component is at its highest. As the sun goes up, i.e. during the day, the subtle basic Raja component steadily rises. With sundown the subtle basic Tama component starts rising and is at its highest around 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM. Hence the early morning hours are most conducive to accomplishing any positive activity. This is because the enhanced sāttviktā in the atmosphere enhances one’s capacity to work and because of the lower subtle basic Raja and Tama, the resistance to activity is lower.

5. Influence of ghosts at night

Another important factor to be taken into account is the influence of ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.). Due to the steady increase in the subtle basic Tama component after sunset, the influence of ghost is increased in two ways.
• Increased ability to harness black or negative energy from the environment
• Increased ability of utilizing this energy, e.g. by draining people of their vital energy and putting negative thoughts in their minds.
Their influence increases progressively after twilight and is at its height after midnight. The period from 12.00 am to 3.00 am is the period of their maximum influence. It is also the period where the effect of spiritual practice is at its minimum, as already explained above. Hence we are more vulnerable to their attacks.

6. In summary

Thus apart from the physical and psychological ill-effects of going to sleep late at night, at a spiritual level too going to sleep late at night is detrimental. Also when we go to sleep late at night we invariably end up getting up late in the morning. As explained above the subtle basic Sattva component is at its highest in the hours just before sunrise and the hours just after it. Hence by not working in the early morning hours we lose the benefit of the enhanced sattvikta at that time. Thus from the perspective of getting maximum value for the time we put in, it is best not to go to sleep late at night.