Is it true that sleeping at sunset is harmful to health?

In many cultures and countries, there is a belief that a dream on sunset is not useful to health and mental balance. Supporters of this idea note, first of all, headache as a consequence of such a vacation. We decided to check if there is scientific confirmation of the harm of sleep at sunset.

Bloggers writethat the ancient Egyptians believed in the danger of sleeping at sunset - they allegedly believed that “the chariot of the god Ra at sunset crosses the possessions of the dead. And the generations of evil can slip out of the ajar gate, so it is important to meet the sunset in a state of wakefulness in order to protect themselves. ” The ancient Slavs They countedthat “at sunrise, the sun gives everyone with life -giving forces. During the sunset, a "hot star", on the contrary, takes these forces with him. " Ayurveda Teachesthat the dream at sunset leads to poverty. Astrologers Explain The ban on a dream on sunset by the fact that at this time "the brain does not fill the body with life -giving prana, but, on the contrary, dries the energy channels." In Islam exists The concept of "File" is a dream after a midday prayer until the beginning of the evening prayer, such a dream is considered prohibited. In Kazakh legends Sunset is the time of the battle of good with evil, so it is unsafe to fall asleep at the time of the decisive fight.

In articles on the dangers of sleep on sunset List The consequences for the body: a sense of disorientation in space, headache, dizziness, a strong feeling of thirst, tremor of the limbs, the general manifestations of severe weakness, the inability to clearly think. You can also Meet Warning from cosmetologists that such a dream is “negatively affects appearance, which is especially true for women. After it, a swelling appears under the eyes, wrinkles become more noticeable and the general condition of the skin and hair worsens. ” 

It is worth noting right away that studies that compare the state of health of the Sun who who slept during the sunset with those who slept the same time under the same conditions of illumination under the zenith or the sun that had left over the horizon, we could not find. Therefore, to verify the approval, we will take into account only those arguments that usually explain the harm of rest at sunset. The mythological explanations of the type “Sunset are the border between the world of the dead and the living”, as well as the approaches of alternative practices using the concepts of “prana” and “energy channels”, will also remain outside this analysis. Moreover, it is worth paying attention to the fact that in warning about the danger of sleeping at sunset it is most often not specified what kind of dream we are talking about: a full night (that is, early retreating to sleep is dangerous) or a short drill (that is, you should not go to rest in the evening for a short time). Therefore, in the analysis, we will consider both options.

To begin with, it is worth noting one obvious thing: depending on the time of the year and the region of residence, the sunset occurs at different times. For example, in Cairo the earliest sunset - at 17:00, and the latest - at 19:00 (in the days of the summer and winter solstice, respectively). In Mecca range A little different - from 17:45 to 19:07. And here is the time of sunset in St. Petersburg It differs strikingly - depending on the time of year, the sun sets in the gap from 15:55 to 22:27. Only taking into account the beliefs of the Egyptians and the Slavs, as well as the Islamic tradition, it turns out that almost six and a half hours (this is not taking into account other time zones) should be unsuitable for sleeping. At the same time, scientific data indicate that sleep can be useful in this gap. So, falling asleep between 22:00 and 23:00, according to data British scientists reduces the risk of cardiovascular pathologies. Moreover, this is precisely the time for a Petersburger in the summer will be just a time of sunset. As for daylight, sleep specialist Christopher Winter He thinksThe ideal time for this comes at about 15:00, that for the same Petersburger in the winter it will again almost coincide with the sunset. So at least the inhabitants of the northern latitudes should definitely not write down the interval from 15:55 to 22:27 in unambiguously unequal for sleeping.

Explaining The potential harm of sleep at sunset, usually primarily remember the hormone of sleep - melatonin. This is argued like this: in case of gloomy lighting of sunset, the body is not able to produce it in sufficient quantities. Melatonin really produced in complete darkness, its development rises On average, two hours before night sleep, and the peak It is necessary For a while from midnight to 3 in the morning. At the same time, the melatonin production curve for each person is largely stable and does not change sharply with a one -time change in the usual schedule, that is, having decided to take a nap for half an hour in the evening, it will not work to knock down the melatonin cycle. Moreover, at the time of sunset of the middle lane (from 16 to 22) and this is usually the phase with a low level of production of melatonin.

In more harmful than evening sleep, the so -called light pollution affects melatonin products - excessive artificial lighting in the evening and night. According to calculations Scientists of the National Center for Oncology named after N. N. Petrov, 62% of the planet’s population suffers from him. Moreover, for the production of melatonin influences Not only illumination outside the bedroom window (which can be adjusted by darkening curtains), but also other light sources: for example, light indicators on equipment, as well as the use of gadgets before bedtime. It turns out that the sunset twilight is by no means the worst obstacle to the production of the hormone.

Another argument concerns precisely the drum at sunset, supposedly it is able to interrupt a full -fledged night sleep, and therefore is harmful. However, here not everything is so simple. AND Russian, And foreign Scientists agree that such a dream should be short enough - from 10 to 60 minutes. A longer rest can cause various types of malaise. The duration of sleep corresponding to the recommendations of the scientists, even reaching the clock, will not allow the schedule of night sleep, but will give the body the necessary rest. It can be concluded that sleep in the evening of two or three hours will really cause malaise, but this will be connected not so much with the wrong time to relax, but with its too long duration.

Finally, warnings against sleep on sunset concern The fact that if a person who has a well -being rested over the night is driving too early, then this may indicate possible health problems. However, from the point of view of formal logic, this does not indicate the dangers of sleep on sunset, but rather about the possible causes of drowsiness itself. Chinese scientists Analyzed 20 cohort studies of the connection of daytime sleep and the risk of cardiovascular diseases, as well as death from all causes. They came to the conclusion that a long (more than an hour) daily sleep is associated with a 30% risk of death from all causes, as well as with an increase of to 36% risk of cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, the study notes that the data obtained is not enough to characterize this connection as causal, and reverse dependence is quite possible-people whose health is initially worse, need more rest. Therefore, the dream at sunset may well not be the cause of health problems, but their marker.

At the same time, there are those who believe that falling asleep precisely at sunset is natural for a person, because at times before the invention of electric light, people had to go to bed at this moment. However, it is impossible to unequivocally say whether our ancestors laid with the onset of twilight or not. Roger Crew, professor of history at the Virginia Polytechnic University, in 2001 in the book "When the Day ends" Described The so -called segmented dream: according to him, our ancestors lay down precisely at sunset, wakely for several hours in the middle of the night and fell asleep again. He discovered more than 2000 evidence of such behavior in diaries, court recordings and literature. At the same time study Three peoples living in Africa and South America in conditions of hunting and gathering and without such a good of civilization as electricity, refutes the hypothesis that all people used to go to bed literally at sunset. An analysis of the sleep of volunteers from these tribes demonstrated that the average time for going to bed comes approximately 3.3 hours after sunset. That is, it is also impossible to unequivocally call a dream on sunset and natural for a person.

Thus, a dream itself during sunset hours cannot harm the body. However, it is worth taking into account many factors: starting from different times of sunset at different times of the year and ending with general medical recommendations regarding the duration of the drame, as well as its own rhythm of life. 

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