In the culture of humans on Earth, night and day signify the acts of sleeping and being awake respectively. When I wake up in the morning and notice the cracks of light peaking through my curtains, I am programmed to process the concept that it is another day and it is time to eventually wake up and stay awake until the sun goes down at the end of the day. Once the sun goes down and my windows no longer transfer the light into my dorm room, I automatically begin to think about sleep. These signifiers (night/day or sunrise/sunset) act as signs of humans’ circadian rhythms, however, what if the roles of night and day were switched similar to the commands of “stop” and “walk” during our class activity? It is difficult for me to comprehend waking up at sunset to start off my day… Or night rather… With my mug of coffee and breakfast. Or in opposition eating my dinner around five in the morning. The culture of humans as a whole has molded this innate regulation with everyday activities and lifestyles. For example, a large majority of restaurants and department stores are open during the daytime and close at night signifying the idea that people will eat or shop during the day when they are awake and will be sleeping during the night after stores close. This idea of night and day sleeping patterns is one of the few means of living that is identical around the globe in every culture, forming a broader culture of all humans on Earth.
Hi Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI think that your idea is a very clever idea for this blog assignment. I really like your picture also. It's true and everyone can feel it - we are programmed to sleep at night and be awake during the day. It's universal, and is definitely identical to every culture on Earth. It's so difficult for anyone who is programmed to go with this pattern, because they have been doing it their whole lives, to try to live any other way. I think you used a nice example with the restaurants and department stores being open during the day for all the people, but knowing that people sleep at night so therefore there is no need to be open all night.
Your post reminded me of my dad - he's worked night shift at his job for many, many years. Therefore, he has to get all of his sleep during the day. He is still awake for a good portion of the day. Everyone else in the house leaves during the day, so he uses this time to sleep. But we are all home for dinner in the evening, so he is awake to be with family. Also, when he doesn't work overtime (the weekends), he lives like everyone else on the weekends. This throws him off. I've never asked him, but I wonder if he has just gotten used to not getting a full 8 hours of sleep before work. Just something to think about.