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Vashi2Panvel.Com: Navi Mumbai: Sept 13: Do you belong to that genre that believes in the yesteryears’ notion- ‘early to bed and early to rise’? If so, you could be an endangered species on the verge of extinction! Today no one prefers to put the tag of the ‘sages of yore’ around one’s neck. The biological clock seems to be changing as youngsters now prefer night, the ideal time for ‘everything important’. Who knows in some years we would start worshipping the setting sun instead of the rising!

Jaya Bhattacharya, famously known as Payal of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi never sleeps before one. She says, “For me keeping late hours has become a habit now. Primarily, it is because of my shooting schedules. But even after I’m home I need time for myself. I read a book for some time and only then do I sleep.”

But for Salil Ankola though sleeping late forms part of a routine getting up on time is more of a habit. “I agree getting up early is a good habit as you get a lot of time for yourself. I get up at around 7 and work out in the gym,” he beams.

Shekhar Suman is also a late-bird. Ask him what time does he go to bed generally and he jokes, “I go to bed at nine or I go home!” Well, on a serious note, Shekhar seems to catch up with life only at the dead of the night! “After my tedious shooting schedule when I return home I have a long chatting session with my wife, then I watch TV and if I’d been unable to browse through the day’s news I read the newspaper as well. Once this is done, it’s time for sleep!” he chuckles. Does this flexibility hold for his son too? “Well, I would want the people of my home to get up early. Keeping late hours for my kid is certainly a strict no. I believe if you get up late you miss a lot in life. So I always recommend getting up early,” he answers.

But Shabbir Ahluwalia (Rishi of Kahin to hoga fame) does not appear to be a part of this ‘late-bandwagon’. He prefers not only getting up early on time but also sleeping early. “I manage my shooting schedules such that I can sleep by eleven or latest by twelve. I like getting up early; it makes me feel fresh the whole day.”
But Sundays seem to be a special day for all these ‘early risers’. Shekhar calls Sunday a ‘lazy day’ and for Ankola it’s an exceptional day when you can easily shrug the work off your shoulders and rest!

Well, it’s not only the celebrities who can be called ‘late-birds’. There are others who give a damn about religiously getting up to do the ‘Surya Pooja’ at dawn break or studying at what is known as the ‘Brahma Muhurat’. With the competitive environment enveloping us, the disc culture creeping into our lives and the latest call centres boom, getting up early is certainly not ‘in’ for our Gen X!
A Third Year Engineering student of RAIT-Nerul, Ruhi Garg is a late riser. “I’m more comfortable studying at night than in the morning. Actually, it’s more about habit for I’ve been used to keeping late hours since several years now. Of course I know, 4.00am onwards is the ideal time to study but I’ve never had any problems keeping up with my late schedule. I’ve always managed to get through KTs,” she giggles.

Our tiny tots anyways abhor the early morning classes, so no morning lessons mean celebration for them! But for those rare ones who do have morning lectures, it’s certainly not a pleasant experience.
“I envy my friends who leave for their schools at around eight. Some even leave by nine. It’s difficult to wake up early and the whole day goes groggily for me,” complaints Aanchal Chaurasia, a St. Joseph High School student. But as it is said, the grass on the other side is greener. 15-something Karishma Kanse who attends day school feels that morning classes are better. “If I attend morning classes, I get the entire day free. So, there’s ample time for my afternoon fiesta unlike now when the entire day goes in the school,’ she beams.

On the other hand parents also agree that they have not instilled in their kids the benefits of waking up at morning. Sheela Garg, a parent says, “I’ve got no qualms with my daughter keeping late hours. If I see her studying late at night I don’t wake her up in the morning .Even if she sleeps till eleven, I do not complaint. I leave it to her as to how she manages her time.” Many parents also let their kids enjoy the ‘Sunday sleep’. “My son gets up early for school everyday so, I don’t wake him up on Sundays. He gets up on his own when he feels he has slept enough,” says Sunetra Ojha, a teacher and mother of two.

Doctors and psychiatrist since days immemorial have always voiced against keeping late hours in the night. According to them, it could be a cause to several diseases-major or minor. Dr. D. Tipnis, Panvel-based general physician says, “Night time is the ideal time to sleep. You can’t stay away at night and compensate for that sleep in the morning. Insufficient sleep can lead to several ailments like hypertension, frequent head-aches, loss of appetite and lack of concentration. It also affects the skin and may lead to dark circles.”

“During the Doordarshan era, people would sleep by around nine or ten. But now with the cable television bang in the nation lifestyle has completely changed. If I let my kid free I’m sure he would keep on watching the 24-hours cartoon channels till eternity. People feel that this is the new culture and it’s cool when others also follow the stream. But, it’s not wise to be a member of the wrong ‘party’,” he further adds.

The world has become competitive and everyone seems to have an edge over the other be it academics, work or even social well-being. For the party animals and call centre employee, the day beings after dusk. For the aspiring engineers, doctors and civil servants the only time they can ideally shell out is after 10pm. when they are done with the college lectures and their coaching classes. And for the kids who have no forced burden of studies and jobs, television is the new member of their family!

Swati Pandey