# An Experiential Illusion or Reality
‘Time, time, time, see what’s happened to me,’ sang Simon and Garfunkel, and later the Bangles. But what am I referring to? How do our bodies perceive time, not just our minds? What role does time play for us? Why do we mistreat ourselves in the name of time?
I will endeavor to provide some clarity on all these inquiries.
Being in the moment means your entire focus is on the present, not the thoughts in your mind about the moment that just went by, while you’re already overlooking the one you’re currently experiencing by pondering the next one that slipped by unnoticed. Then comes the subsequent one you just overlooked for the same reason. It quickly becomes unattainable.
If we are not engaged in the present, we forfeit our lives more than can be measured. Time is not something you can reclaim. It’s crucial not to waste it. However, how we utilize it is not the sole consideration. Grasping time as we perceive it is equally advantageous. What precisely is time and how does it influence our bodies and minds?
## Never Enough Time
One of the most frequent reasons I hear for why individuals do not practice mindfulness is the scarcity of time. Yet time is boundless. We behave as if it is set due to our reliance on a time-measuring device known as a clock. But that clock can malfunction, or it might be altered for seasonal adjustments. Daylight savings time, winter time, Greenwich mean time — these are arbitrary metrics imposed on us by some thoughtful person or committee in history, to whom we have become unthinking subjugates.
### Humans’ Natural Time Cycles
We each have our own inherent time cycles.
1. **Diurnal rhythms** refer to the two daily biological cycles influenced by changes in day and night. Their lengths vary based on the hours of light and darkness and are also impacted by artificial illumination. Within this, at night, we experience 90-minute sleep cycles alternating between deep and light sleep. Diurnal rhythms regulate our metabolism, slowing it during sleep and accelerating it when active, providing energy when we require it the most. It operates most effectively during daylight hours.
2. **Circadian rhythms** function alongside the diurnal, constantly cycling over a twenty-four-hour timeframe, and react to behaviors related to light and dark, fatigue and alertness. They respond to internal physiological variations like cortisol and melatonin levels. Much of the research on circadian rhythms emerged after a pioneering and nearly backbreaking trial carried out by a French geologist, Michel Siffre, whose contributions I will elaborate on below.
Diurnal and circadian cycles work in tandem and offer us a sense of routine through day and night. Both are regulated by the hypothalamus.
## Time Cycles Change Over Time
My cycles have transformed over time and with age. Yours likely have too. As a child, you would have slept significantly longer than you do now. Presently, in my seventies, I typically sleep in a split pattern, awake for approximately two hours each night, relishing the silence and darkness in solitude. It can be a highly productive period — I write, read, or catch up on some television. Occasionally, I scroll, as many of us do these days, seeking inspiration, perhaps for entertainment or for a new poem or piece of writing. Last night, I found that scrolling provided the motivation for this piece and I completed an entire poem that blossomed in my mind. Then I returned to bed and slept soundly for another two sleep cycles, waking completely revitalized. This used to be normal for sleep during winter months since there were very few activities in darkness.
I can only maintain this lifestyle because I retire early enough to achieve a full night’s sleep plus two hours of productive time in the middle, making my nights about ten hours long, ideally with seven to eight hours allocated for sleep.
When I adhered to the clock and had to arrive at work at specific times, send my sons off to school, etc., such luxury as discovering my own bio-rhythm was nonexistent. I frequently went to work not at my best and struggled to be effective in my teaching and student evaluation tasks. I did my utmost and even experienced burnout one or two times while attempting to juggle everything as a single mother.
Do we injure ourselves when we enforce time regulations, or do we merely need to better organize our sleep cycles? Perhaps a bit of both.
I was in southeast Africa last year and was acutely aware of the twelve-hour day and night diurnal rhythm, being situated on the equator. I found it easy to retire early and awaken earlier than I would at home. I was three to four hours ahead, effectively going to sleep in the afternoon and waking in the late evening by UK standards. I slept well there, even while camping on thin mats, and I easily drifted off because my body appreciated the extended